KANSAS CITY, KAN. - A woman who worked at the Grossman Center in Leavenworth has been sentenced to two years on federal probation for failing to report that she knew it when an inmate left the facility to avoid a drug test, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Jessica Wilmer-Davis, 34, Leavenworth, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of misprision, or failing to report a federal crime.
In her plea, she admitted that while she was a contract employee working as a cook she began an intimate relationship with Joshua Spurgeon, an inmate at the facility. Spurgeon was allowed to leave the facility only to go to work or approved medical appointments.
On Dec. 8, 2013, Spurgeon told Wilmer-Davis he was going to leave the facility without permission because of an upcoming drug test.
On Dec. 9, when Spurgeon turned up missing, Wilmer-Davis was asked if she knew anything about his disappearance. She did not disclose that he had told her he planned to escape.
Grissom commended the U.S. Marshals Service, the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley for their work on the case.
