DHL scion jailed for escape

SANDPOINT — A Hope resident awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges in Micronesia has been ordered to serve 60 days in jail and five months of probation for escaping from a jail on the island republic of Palau, according to USA Today.

Hillbroom became an international figure after paternity tests determined that he was the biological son of Larry Hillblom, the deceased multimillionaire founder of DHL Worldwide Express.

Hillbroom was being held in Palau in 2016 on allegations that he attempted to smuggle methamphetamine from the Philippines when he broke out of the jail. He was recaptured two days later at a beach in Meyuns, a hamlet in Palau’s state of Koror, where he made an unsuccessful flight into a mangrove trees, USA Today reported.

Justice Ministry spokesman Jennifer Anson told the media that Hillbroom had two cans of beer and advised authorities that he “just wanted to party” before going back to jail.

Hillbroom, 33, was the subject of a lengthy profile recently published by the British tabloid The Daily Mail.

In the story, Hillbroom seemed to reckon with his misspent youth, but was did not appear too worried about the pending drug trafficking charges.

He was under house arrest at the time of the interview.

“I go surfing, fishing, whatever I want to do. I live in paradise - what’s not to like? I hang out with my kids, life is good. I don’t need much, we eat the fish I catch, if I want lobster or crab I’ll jump in and get one, I don’t want to go to fancy restaurants,” Hillbroom said in the article.

Under the terms of a plea agreement with the District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands, Hillbroom must spend two months in a Koror state jail for his escape, a sentence which began on June 17, the USA Today report said. He’s also required to complete an inpatient drug rehabilitation program.