Smith County inmate accused of escaping van sentenced to 20 years
Posted/updated on: August 11, 2023 at 4:01 am
TYLER – An inmate accused of escaping a transport van in January was found guilty and sentenced in a Smith County court on Wednesday according to our news partners at KETK. According to court records, 42-year-old Timothy Chappelle of Killeen was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of escaping while arrested. A widely-circulated video showed a handcuffed man in orange running down Tyler’s Gentry Parkway in early January. Authorities said an inmate kicked out a back window and barricade while a transport van was stopped on Gentry Parkway and Parkdale Drive, then proceeded to run north where he allegedly broke into two houses near Wisteria Drive.
Chappelle initially pleaded not guilty. In addition to his escape charge, he was facing two felony charges of burglary of a habitation which records show are still on the table.
Authorities said at the time of his escape, Chappelle was in jail for criminal mischief, a state jail felony that could carry up to two years jail time. He was initially booked in on December 26, 2022.
