Columbia resident Joaquin Leycock twice attempted to elude capture by the Howard County police, including escaping from Howard County General Hospital last July.
But Tuesday, he couldn?t escape a criminal conviction in Howard County Circuit Court, where Judge Richard Bernhardt sentenced Leycock to three years in prison for possession of cocaine.
Leycock, 29, confounded police last year when he eluded capture for more than two weeks after a routine traffic stop.
His fleeing began at about 11:45 p.m. on July 6, when an officer said he observed Leycock speeding in the area of Snowden River Parkway and Dried Earth Road in Columbia. The officer stopped the car and saw drugs inside the vehicle, police said.
Leycock ran and jumped into a nearby pond, where he began to drown, causing the officer to jump in and rescue Leycock.
An ambulance took Leycock to Howard County General Hospital, where he had serious complications from his near-drowning. But three days later, the hospital reported that Leycock had escaped ? apparently taking a $6,000 heart monitor with him.
After two weeks of searching, Howard County police received a tip that Leycock was hiding at a house in the 5300 block of Carriage Court in Baltimore. They took him into custody.
In court Tuesday, Leycock?s attorney, Louis Willemin, blamed the incident on Leycock?s drug addiction, but prosecutors countered that he was not merely a user, said T. Wayne Kirwan, spokesman for the Howard County State?s Attorney?s Office.
Leycock has twice been convicted of possession with intent to distribute drugs in 1997 and 2000, according to court records.
In Tuesday?s case, prosecutors dropped a charge of drug possession with the intent to distribute.
