L.A. man accused of movie piracy flees

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- The first man to be arrested in the United States for allegedly videotaping unreleased movies has fled custody a week before his Los Angeles trial.

A federal warrant was issued by U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson for Johnny Ray Gasca who was last seen Wednesday in a Los Angeles drugstore looking for flu medicine while in the custody of his lawyer, Alan Rubin, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

"He turned (down) an aisle and bolted," Rubin said.

Gasca is charged with conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, witness intimidation, economic extortion and using a false name, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles.

He's accused of sneaked a camcorder into private screening of movies such as "The Core," "8 Mile" and "Anger Management," according to court records.

U.S. Attorney Chris Johnson said more charges were pending including escape from custody and failure to appear for his Friday hearing.