On December 11, 2006, Mooney was assigned to a maintenance detail in the prison camp. When confronted by a U.S. Bureau of Prisons employee for retrieving contraband that had been thrown over the fence, Mooney jumped the fence and fled on foot, discarding his prison issue uniform while running. After searching for two days, Deputy U.S. Marshals found and arrested Mooney on December 13, 2006 while he was walking down Bouldercrest Rd. in Atlanta.

During Wednesday’s sentencing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stressed that “escape by its nature is dangerous, not only to the public, but also to any law enforcement officers who might encounter the subject by chance, unaware of the escapee’s status”. A U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Georgia sentenced Mooney to 37 months for the offense of escape and ordered it to be served consecutively to the 125 months he was already serving.