Prosecutors claim man who had sentence commuted by Biden had alcohol at halfway house
Nia Hinson
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Authorities are claiming a man whose sentence was commuted by former President Joe Biden violated his parole.
Malcolm Redmon, 42, is being held in the Cole County Jail without bond on a U.S. marshal hold.
Redmon was taken into custody by Columbia police on Friday and taken to the Boone County Jail. Capt. Brian Leer, of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, previously told ABC 17 News Redmon was being held there on a federal detainer based on probation.
He was picked up from the jail and transported to the Cole County Jail on Monday morning, according to previous reporting.
Prosecutors claim Redmon violated his parole after he was allegedly seen on camera giving another person a bottle of alcohol while at the halfway house he was staying at. Redmon claimed he did not drink the alcohol and later took a breathalyzer that came back negative.
Prosecutors say he also did not notify his parole officer that he was traveling more than 50 miles outside of Jackson County.
Redmon argued he was shown a map of all the locations he could travel within the western district of Missouri to see his family.
The judge ordered he be detained until his next hearing. The date for that hearing has not been scheduled.
Former Cole County Prosecutor Bill Tackett said a judge will likely rule that Redmon will have to serve the remainder of his sentence.
“The lawyer can ask and say look, he’s a good guy. He had no problems in prison. You can make those arguments. But the judge ultimately is the one that makes that decision on how much time they’re going to serve,” Tackett said.
Tackett said the entire process typically takes about a month.
Redmon was sentenced to 24 years in 2016 after pleading guilty to being involved in a cocaine-selling ring in Mid-Missouri. He was one of nearly 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug charges to have their sentence commuted by Biden.
He was released from federal custody a decade early on July 16, according to online records.
A family member of Redmon had told ABC 17 News last month that Redmon was in a vocational program. A June 23 filing shows he had to reside in and complete a residential reentry center program until “until discharged by the center director after consultation with the Probation Office, for a period not to exceed 120 days.”
ABC 17 News reached out to the prosecuting and defense attorneys on the case, who declined to comment.