Prosecutor: Ga. jail inmate who escaped cell for cigarettes and returned gets 20-year sentence

Ga. man who left jail for cigarettes gets 20 years

WOODBINE, Ga. — Authorities say an inmate who broke out of jail, then returned after stealing 14 packs of cigarettes, has been sentenced to 20 years.

Prosecutors told The Florida Times-Union inmate Harry Jackson, 26, escaped his cell at the Camden County Jail last year and went to the exercise yard to retrieve cigarettes he had expected would be tossed over a fence.

They say that when the contraband wasn’t there, Jackson scaled the fence, broke a window at a convenience store and grabbed cigarette packs only to be arrested upon his return.

Jackson pleaded guilty to burglary and escape charges Monday. Prosecutors say he had been jailed on charges including driving with a suspended license. His lawyer, William Ashe, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.