CEDAR RAPIDS – A man who escaped from federal custody twice in just over two years was sentenced today to nearly three years in federal prison.
Gabriel Mangum, age 45, from Iowa City, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 31, 2020 guilty plea to one count of escape from custody.
Evidence from Mangum’s plea and sentencing hearings showed that he was previously convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in federal court in 2009 and sentenced to seven years in prison. In June 2017, Mangum escaped from federal custody while in a halfway house. He was arrested approximately one month later and sentenced to another 18 months’ imprisonment.
Beginning on July 12, 2019, Mangum was in custody and under supervision at the halfway house again. On July 31, 2019, Mangum left the halfway house without permission and escaped from custody for the second time. Mangum remained on the loose and his whereabouts were unknown until October 25, 2020, when he was arrested by law enforcement.
Mangum has a long criminal history. This is his third federal conviction. He was first convicted of robbery in state court and sentenced to 25 years in prison when he was 18. He also has convictions involving drugs, thefts, forgery, and disorderly conduct.
Mangum was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Mangum was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment, consisting of 18 months in prison for violating his supervised release conditions and 15 months in prison for his most recent escape. He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Mangum is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the United States Marshal’s Service.
