Edwin Cota, Michigan Dept. of Corrections photo

MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) – A Michigan inmate who tried to escape by burying himself in a prison garden has been sentenced to an additional two years behind bars.

Authorities say Edwin Cota was found buried in August at the Brooks prison in Muskegon. He had a sheet tied in knots that he had hoped to use to get over the fence.

The Muskegon Chronicle saysCota was sentenced to at least two years in prison Thursday after earlier pleading no contest to the attempted escape. The punishment will be added to the sentence he’s serving for home invasion in the Detroit area. His earliest release date for that crime is in 2018.

In August, officials said Cota’s scheme fell apart when guards interviewed his cellmate, who had appeared nervous.

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Information from: The Muskegon Chronicle, http://www.mlive.com/muskegon

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.