A bank robbery suspect from St. John who fled from the Rolette County Jail in March and sparked a multi-agency manhunt has pleaded guilty to escape.
The Rolette County Sheriff said that 58-year-old Jay Barker got past a correctional officer the night of March 12 and locked the officer in a cell. He then scaled the wall of the jail and fled, but was tracked down in the early morning hours of March 13. Barker will serve a year and a day and credited for 51 day served.
At the time of the escape, Barker was in custody on suspicion he robbed a credit union in St. John on March 8.
He remains jailed in Rugby and will be turned over to federal authorities for the bank robbery charge once his completes his current sentence.