A Boston resident entered a guilty plea on Thursday as he faced the federal court for escaping from his transitional housing. Derek Rego, convicted previously for cocaine distribution, found himself back in the judicial spotlight after failing to adhere to the terms of his finishing sentence in a residential re-entry center, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Having been transferred to the re-entry facility from prison in January 2020, Rego was expected to remain there until his release date on June 5, 2020. During his time at the center, he escaped, leaving authorities puzzled over his whereabouts for almost a month. According to the officials, during an instructed quarantine following exposure to COVID-19 at his workplace, an in-person check by residential re-entry center staff at the temporary location on April 3 turned up empty, with Rego nowhere to be found.
Rego's legal troubles were compounded by an arrest for unrelated state domestic violence charges on May 4, which led to his subsequent recapture. On Thursday, before U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, he pleaded guilty to one count of escape. A sentencing hearing has been set for December 12, 2024. Rego's departure from the conditions of his furlough, which he had acknowledged through his 2019 application, could potentially lead to a stiffer penalty, with a mandatory minimum of five years possibly looming, detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office announcement.
Justice officials, including Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, United States Marshal Brian Kyes, and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus, are handling the case. In the maze of criminal justice, such violations of furlough could tack on up to three years of supervised release and hefty fines reaching $250,000, illustrating the gravity of Rego's guilty plea.
