Plea entered in rape, sodomy, burglary charges

Published 10:52 pm Monday, May 22, 2017

A Selma man that escaped from the Dallas County Jail multiple times over the last three years pleaded guilty Monday to rape, sodomy and burglary charges.

According to Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson, 47-year-old Michael Christian received a total of 60 years for first-degree rape, sodomy and burglary.

Court records show Christian broke into a home on County Road 269 and raped a 45-year-old woman around 11 p.m. on Nov. 25, 2013. A police report states Christian entered the home through a window. The victim called 911 after running to a nearby house.

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Jackson said Christian received a 20-year sentence for each charge, and those will run concurrently with one another.

According to a previous Times-Journal report, Christian escaped the Dallas County Jail the first time in November 2014.

Christian was on work detail with other inmates when he allegedly climbed through the ceiling tiles and escaped. He escaped while awaiting trial on this rape case.

Christian was caught after someone alerted the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department that he showed up to his father’s house in Sardis in a red truck, which was found to be stolen. An altercation happened at the house when family members wouldn’t give Christian money. He allegedly drove the truck at his father, who fired shots at him. He the fled the scene and was eventually caught in Sumter County near a rest stop on Interstate 20/59.

Christian allegedly escaped for a second time less than a month later in December 2014. According to a previous article, Christian broke through the ceiling again and left through a door that was supposed to be secured. He was found hiding out in an abandoned house in Sardis and arrested without incident. Christian’s third escape happened last September when he and two others allegedly overpowered a corrections officer and escaped the jail. The other two inmates were Jeremy Swann, 31, and Derrick Washington Jr., 19.

Swann was captured the next day in the Burnsville area and charged with escape and assault. Captain Mike Granthum with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department said they overpowered the guard by throwing something in his eyes and taking his keys.

Christian was captured days later near County Road 83 and County Road 88 in Autauga County. He was arrested after authorities received a call about two suspicious men walking down the railroad tracks.

After a four to five hour search, Christian was found and arrested. Washington was arrested days later after a traffic stop on Broad Street in Selma.