Hebron man sentenced in jail escape

A 19-year old Hebron man was sentenced last week to five to six years in prison for his escape from the Clay County Jail in August 2010.

Michael D. Hawkins was sentenced in Clay County District Court; the honorable Vicky Johnson gave the Hebron man credit for 141 days he spent in jail since his capture.
In August, Hawkins was in the Clay County jail awaiting re-sentencing on a burglary charge and violations at the McCook work farm when he escaped with fellow inmate Dylan Landers of Sutton. He and Landers were being escorted from a recreational area back to their cells when they ran off.  The two stole a black 2003 Honda Accord in Clay Center and drove it to Hastings.

Officers from 13 different agencies tracked the escapees as they traveled by county roads to Hastings. Arresting officers confronted both the young men at a Walmart store where they used a dog to subdue Landers. Landers was bitten and had to be taken to Mary Lanning Hospital where he was treated and released. Hawkins was taken into custody without incident.

Hawkins was also involved in a high speed chase in a stolen vehicle on Labor Day, 2009, as he ran from Nebraska State Troopers and the Omaha police.

According to court records he was sentenced to the McCook Work Ethic Camp and two years of probation in March 2010 on a burglary conviction in Clay County. He was also sentenced in May 2010 to five years of probation for attempted burglary in Thayer County.

Landers, who was serving a sentence for auto theft and burglary,  was sentenced in October 2010 to 10 to 20 years in prison for the escape.