Jason J. Wilson, 35, of Hillsboro has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for three felony offenses, court documents show.
Wilson pleaded guilty to first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, a class D felony, and escape or attempted escape from custody while under arrest for a felony, a class E felony. He also entered an Alford plea for stealing, a class D felony, according to court records. By entering an Alford plea, Wilson did not admit guilt for the stealing charge but agreed there was sufficient evidence to find him guilty of the offense.
On Jan. 15, Jefferson County Div. 5 Circuit Judge Victor J. Melenbrink sentenced Wilson to 10 years for tampering with a motor vehicle; seven years for stealing; and three years for escape or attempted escape from custody while under arrest for a felony. However, all three sentences will be served concurrently, or at the same time, court papers indicated
On May 17, 2012, Wilson entered a home and stole four rings, two watches and a 42-inch, flat screen television, altogether valued at $53,600. The next day, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies who were investigating the burglary tracked Wilson to an Express Mart gas station, 900 Peach Tree Drive, in Hillsboro. Deputies arrested Wilson outside the gas station, handcuffed him and put him in a detective’s patrol vehicle, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
However, Wilson was able to free himself and slide into the driver’s seat, put the car in reverse and flee the gas station’s parking lot. The patrol vehicle struck a detective in the right hip as it backed up, the report said.
Wilson abandoned the vehicle about a mile away from the gas station behind a home in the 900 block of Koogler Drive. He escaped through a wooded area, but he was recaptured early May 19 at a St. Louis home, the Sheriff’s Office previously reported.
After Wilson escaped, deputies searched the rental car he had been using and found items stolen during the May 17 burglary, including jewelry valued at more than $30,000, the report said.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Jacob T. Costello handled the cases.
Wilson previously pleaded guilty to numerous other felony and six misdemeanor charges, court documents show.
In 2006, he pleaded guilty to felony burglary and resisting arrest, as well as a misdemeanor stealing, stemming from a 2005 incident in St. Louis County. Also that year, he pleaded guilty to four felony burglary and three felony theft charges tied to a 2005 incident in Jefferson County, according to court records.
Wilson pleaded guilty in 2009 to felony receiving stolen property for a 2008 incident in Jefferson County, court papers indicated.
In 2013, he pleaded guilty to a two felony burglary charges and a misdemeanor theft charge for two incidents in 2011 in St. Louis County, court papers said.
Then, in 2014, Wilson pleaded guilty to three felony charges for receiving stolen property, a felony resisting arrest charge and four misdemeanor charges for receiving stolen property connected to a 2013 incident in Jefferson County, court records show.
Wilson currently is in the Eastern Reception Diagnostic Correctional Center in Bonne Terre.