Jake Rupert, a 40-year-old resident of Lexington, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison following his guilty plea for escaping from a federal residential re-entry facility. The incident occurred on the morning of March 5, 2024, when Rupert left the halfway house in Columbia without authorization.
Rupert had been residing at the halfway house since January 2024 after being transferred from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He was serving the final six months of a 96-month sentence imposed in 2017 for charges related to firearm possession. Deputies from the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department found Rupert at a residence in Gaston on May 27, 2024. He was apprehended and charged federally with escape while also completing his original sentence.
Senior United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie handed down a sentence of 24 months imprisonment followed by three years of court-ordered supervision. It is noted that there is no parole available within the federal system.
The case involved investigations by several agencies including the United States Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey D. Haynes was responsible for prosecuting the case.