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Man sentenced for trying to dig his way out of the Hill County jail

Posted at 1:44 PM, Sep 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-19 15:44:12-04
Marvin Lee Cure
Marvin Lee Cure

Marvin Lee Cure, whose plan to dig out of the Hill County jail was unraveled in June, was sentenced on Monday.

The Havre Herald reports that Cure appeared in District Court in Havre, where he was sentenced for two cases and had a suspended sentence revoked in another case.

Cure, who pleaded guilty to criminal possession of dangerous drugs for a February 2018 incident, was sentenced to three years with the Montana Department of Corrections with a recommendation for screening into Nexus or a similar facility for that offense.

As for the June incident where Cure was caught using a steel bar to dig out of the Hill County Detention Center, he was ordered to pay $1,027 in restitution, and received a suspended three-year sentence with the Montana Department of Corrections.

Cure also had a 36-month suspended sentence for criminal possession of dangerous drugs revoked.

Cure’s plan to escape was unraveled June 22, when three inmates in the Hill County Detention Center were interviewed about someone removing a steel bar from one of the steps. The bar could not be located.

Cure reportedly showed another inmate how he used something to chisel through the wall of his cell. The hole Cure had dug, the inmate said, was about 14 inches wide and eight inches tall.

Deputies found a hole the size of a cement block under Cure’s bunk. “The hole was to an outside wall, and daylight was seen when the cement block was removed,” according to court documents. Two pieces of steel were found after the cement block was removed.

That cell was closed down for repairs, which was estimated to cost $1,500.

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