Man Who Escaped Federal Custody On Massachusetts Highway Pleads Guilty

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The Brazilian man charged with escaping federal custody on a Massachusetts highway pleaded guilty to a related charge.

Victor Rodrigues De Moura-Pereria, 20, pleaded guilty on April 26. He was sentenced to time served (approximately five weeks in prison) to be followed by one year of supervised release.

Rodrigues was subsequently transferred into ICE custody and placed into removal proceedings.

In September 2021, Rodrigues was arrested in Arizona after unlawfully entering the United States, officials said. He was subsequently placed into removal proceeding in October 2021 but failed to report and was considered an absconder.

On Feb. 25, in Framingham, Rodrigues was approached by local law enforcement due to an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Rodrigues ignored officers’ commands and resisted arrest. He was then transferred into the custody of federal immigration officials.

The next day, while being transported to the Wyatt Detention Center where he was to be detained while in custody of immigration authorities, Rodrigues made numerous attempts to escape.

Specifically – while placed in full restraints and seated in the prisoner compartment of the transport van – Rodrigues attempted to unlock the passenger side door by pulling on the lock pin with his teeth. Rodrigues then forced his body through a small gap between the vehicle’s rear cage and passenger side window and into the vehicle’s storage compartment, where he pulled the emergency release pull tab, opened the rear door and jumped out onto the highway when the vehicle entered standstill traffic.

After exiting the transport van, Rodrigues ran down the middle of the highway and disappeared. Responding law enforcement subsequently located Rodrigues hiding inside a wooden fenced area behind a building in Waltham, approximately a quarter mile from where he exited the vehicle.