Work release escapee Nathaniel Hollett gets 3 years: ‘I hate that I’m sitting here and being a nuisance again’

An Indiana inmate was sentenced to three years in prison after failing to return to a work-release assignment, authorities said.

Nathaniel James Hollett, 39, had previously been allowed to serve his sentence through a work-release program instead of remaining behind bars.

Then authorities reported that the convict simply failed to come back to custody.

Hollett pleaded guilty to a charge of Level 5 felony escape after failing to return to the Kosciusko County Work Release center in January, court records show.

According to court documents, Hollett had originally received a sentence for battery resulting in moderate bodily injury. He was authorized to serve the executed portion of that punishment through work release, records show.

On January 21, his work supervisor reportedly noticed that Hollett did not appear to be in the “right state of mind.”

The supervisor asked him to leave work on account of his condition, according to court documents.

Work release officials later reported that the inmate never returned to the facility.

Police found the defendant the following day at a business in Plymouth, authorities said.

Judge Chad Miner sentenced Hollett to a total of 4½ years, according to court records.

The order requires three years to be executed in the Indiana Department of Correction, court records show. Another 1½ years were suspended to probation.

The judge also recommended Hollett for the state’s Recovery While Incarcerated program, according to court filings.

The three-year prison term will not run alongside his prior matters, records show. Those three years will be served consecutively and back-to-back with sentences from five additional criminal cases, according to court documents.

Hollett acknowledged his actions before the court, according to records.

“I hate that I’m sitting here and being a nuisance again,” the convict told the judge.