Update 10 a.m. Thursday: Marcus Jackson was arrested overnight by a warrant squad after absconding following a conviction in the town of Manlius, prosecutor Kevin Healy said.
Jackson faces a year in jail after being found guilty earlier this month of scrap metal thefts. He had been granted a short release following his trial Feb. 2 to get his affairs in order. But he never turned himself in to Manlius Police at noon Feb. 3, as promised.
Police went out to an undisclosed location and arrested Jackson, Healy said.
Earlier:
Manlius, NY — A registered sex offender at the center of a scandal involving non-profit Vera House is on the lam after being found guilty a week ago of scrap-metal thefts by a Manlius jury.
Marcus Jackson, 58, resigned his job as a victim advocate for Vera House last summer after it came to light that the agency helping survivors of domestic and sexual abuse knew he was a sex offender when hiring Jackson in 2020.
Jackson is a Level 2 sex offender after serving time in prison for having sexual contact with two teen boys in 1998 in Florida. That hiring has led to an enduring scandal that continues to bedevil the longtime non-profit Vera House, leading to the resignation of its top leaders and a state finding of misused money.
Jackson’s latest transgressions are of a much lower magnitude. But his disappearing act could land him in deeper trouble.
In the early hours of July 31, 2022, Jackson was caught stealing copper wiring from the property of an electrical contractor in Manlius, assistant Onondaga County prosecutor Kevin Healy said.
Manlius police had been checking on the property following a string of similar thefts when an officer encountered Jackson, the prosecutor added.
The value of the copper was less than $1,000, so Jackson was charged with misdemeanors and released. He took his case to a one-day trial Feb. 2 in which he claimed that he thought the metal in question was garbage. He was also caught with bolt cutters.
A jury took about 20 minutes to find him guilty of petit larceny and possession of burglars tools, Healy said. The maximum sentence for misdemeanor convictions is 364 days in local jail.
Town Justice David Rothschild apparently believed that Jackson deserved some jail time. But Jackson pleaded to the judge for a little more freedom to get his affairs in order before being taken into custody, Healy said.
That plea came around 4 p.m. on the day of trial, following the jury’s guilty verdict, Healy said. The judge agreed to give Jackson until noon the next day, Feb. 3 -- less than 24 hours later. He ordered Jackson to surrender to the Manlius Police Department at that time.
Authorities haven’t seen Jackson since he left court, according to court personnel and prosecutors. The judge has since issued a warrant for Jackson’s arrest.
It’s unclear what the judge’s sentence might end up being in Jackson’s case. He’s unlikely to spend longer than 364 days in jail, the maximum punishment allowed under law for the thefts.
For now, the judge is scheduled to announce Jackson’s official sentence in March. But that will be delayed if he isn’t brought into custody before then.
Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-6070.