Former actor who was freed early under Starmer’s prison release scheme sparks manhunt
A former actor who was freed from jail early under Sir Keir Starmer’s prisoner release scheme prompted a manhunt after going on the run.
Northumbria Police issued an appeal to the public to locate Jason Hoganson, 53, who was freed on Sept 10 from an 18-month sentence for assaulting his former girlfriend.
Hoganson, who starred in the cult 1980s film Empire State, is wanted for recall to prison for breaching his bail conditions, police said. The force said he was believed to be “actively evading arrest”. He was later caught.
He is accused of two counts of breaching a restraining order by contacting the same former partner, and one of carrying out a fresh assault on her after his early release from jail.
Prosecutors said Hoganson allegedly sent his former partner two letters while he was in HMP Durham in August and on Sept 3. He is then suspected of assaulting her by slapping her cheek at her home address the day after his prison release on Sept 10.
Police said: “He could be anywhere in our force area or County Durham. Anyone who sees Hoganson should not approach him and instead contact us immediately.
“Please be aware that harbouring a wanted person is an offence and those involved could face prosecution.”
Film career
Originally from Wallsend, Hoganson was talent-scouted by producers who contacted his drama teacher in 1987 looking for a youth to play a Geordie drifter living among mobsters in London.
He had a leading role in the 1988 Hollywood movie Empire State alongside Ray McAnally, Jamie Foreman and Martin Landau, the US star, but struggled with his movie career and fell into a life of drink, drugs and crime.
He is the second known prisoner freed early who is alleged to have committed a crime within hours of release. A different former inmate allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on the same day he was freed.
After his Sep 10 release, Hoganson was arrested after allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend again, and recalled to jail for breaching his licence.
He completed his jail sentence for the first assault and was then bailed by a court pending his trial for the second assault. He is now being sought by police for breaching his bail conditions.
The heavily-tattooed former actor was pictured giving the thumbs up when he was released early from HMP Durham on Sept 10 as part of the Government’s attempts to tackle the prison overcrowding crisis.
He was among some 1,750 prisoners freed that day after serving 40 per cent rather than 50 per cent of their sentences.
The early release scheme was introduced by Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, as part of efforts to create up to 5,500 extra spaces in jails after the imprisonment of Summer rioters pushed the system to the brink of running out of cells.
There were just 86 spaces left in male adult prisons by the August Bank Holiday Monday.
Prison and probation watchdogs forecast that prisoners released early would be recalled to jail within weeks, with homelessness a key reason for either breaching their licence or returning to crime. A third of freed prisoners re-offend within a year of release.