Given 2 Years in Gun Case, Defendant Flees, Is Chased Down in Court Hall and Tackled by Prosecutor
Seth Uphoff’s experience as a former defensive back for the Eureka College football team came in handy on Thursday when a convicted defendant was sentenced to two years in a gun case Uphoff prosecuted in Peoria, Ill.
Apparently hoping for probation, because he legally owned the assault rifle he shot off into the air on July 31, defendant Gyrune Linwood, 22, bolted from the Peoria County Courthouse after he was given time for the aggravated unlawful use of a weapon conviction, the Journal Star reports.
Bailiff Gary Mitchell briefly took Linwood down, and a relative of Linwood’s tried to help restrain him. But the defendant broke free and ran into the hallway outside the second-floor courtroom, when Uphoff chased him down and tackled him from behind, the newspaper recounts.
Authorities apparently haven’t yet determined whether to file new charges against Linwood, but authorities said a sister is now facing an obstruction and disorderly conduct case for allegedly hindering efforts to apprehend her brother as he bolted.
