Man Charged with Escape Found Not Guilty, Avoids Harsh Statutory Penalties

¾ houses are residences where those recovering from substance abuse issues can stay while they work to attain or maintain sobriety. When a man in Pennsylvania was accused of escaping a ¾ house signing himself in and out of a mental health facility, and not returning to the ¾ house, a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was initially in the facility as part of a probation agreement from a previous case.

After two years, he was turned in and the case went to trial. Knowing the consequences he faced if found guilty, he enlisted the help of criminal defense attorney Samir Sarna.

The client did everything right and obeyed the law for the two years before being turned in, so attorney Sarna asked for the client to receive time served from when he was apprehended to when the case went to a state court non-jury trial. Additionally, attorney Sarna argued for his client to be found not guilty so he could use the time accrued towards his violation.

Eventually, the judge agreed, and the client was found not guilty.

The outcome of an individual case depends on a variety of factors unique to that case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any similar or future case.