Man convicted of escaping ICE custody at NYC airport
NEW YORK (AP) - A Senegalese man has been convicted of escaping from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in New York's Kennedy International Airport.
A jury in federal court in Brooklyn deliberated for about two hours on Friday before finding Mohamadou Lamine Mbacke guilty of the misdemeanor.
Prosecutors had showed jurors a security videotape of Mbacke dashing through the airport last year after he ducked away from agents preparing to deport him to Senegal for a previous gun offense. Authorities tracked him down three days later in Chicago.
Defense attorney Jan Rostal accused federal authorities of falsely labeling her client as a threat to public safety. After the verdict, she said the case opened up questions about how the government handles deportations.
The conviction carries a sentence of up to one year behind bars.