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Jail for man who fled sentencing

Posted on: Friday, 9 January 2009, 15:19 CST

A Texas man will spend 180 days in jail after he fled from court just prior to receiving a probation sentence, his lawyer said.

Jim Shaw, an attorney for James Carroll Franklin, 47, said his client apparently panicked after Wise County prosecutors Kevin Henry and Paige McCormick suggested in court that he be sentenced to life in prison, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star Telegram reported Friday.

Franklin excused himself for a bathroom break and less than five minutes later, the jury returned with a sentence of a $1,000 fine and six years in prison, which they recommended be probated, for his conviction on a charge of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.

However, Franklin never returned from the bathroom to hear the sentence and authorities pursued him in a high-speed chase after it was discovered that he had sped away from the court. Police officers in Tarrant County rammed Franklin's car and stunned him with a Taser when he allegedly resisted arrest, Shaw said.

As a result of the incident, 271st District Judge John Fostel sentenced Franklin to 180 days in jail as a condition of his 10-year probation and he now faces a felony charge of evading arrest in a motor vehicle.

Source: United Press International

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