Watch: Sentenced Inmate Busts Free of Cuffs, Brawls With Deputies Before Wild Escape Try

Moments after hearing his sentence, an Ohio man decided he wasn’t going anywhere quietly — and the wild scene that followed was all caught on camera.

Timothy J. Reaggle, 20, of Wellsville, had just been sentenced to a year in prison on Monday, September 15, 2026, in a case dating back to February 2025, when he allegedly snapped, slipping free of his handcuffs and launching into a full-blown brawl with the deputies escorting him, according to Columbiana County Sheriff Brian McLaughlin.

Surveillance footage shows a deputy walking Reaggle down a courthouse hallway when he suddenly breaks loose, throws a punch, and bolts. Sprinting for freedom, he barrels straight into a second deputy, sending the officer crashing to the ground. Chaos erupts as bystanders rush in to help the injured deputies — one of whom is seen sprawled on the floor, bleeding from the head and pressing a paper towel to his face.

Reaggle’s dash for freedom carried him all the way to the courthouse’s front steps, where video captures him sliding down the stairs toward the exit — before deputies finally closed in and zapped him with a Taser, ending the chase for good.

Sheriff McLaughlin said both deputies suffered broken bones in the melee but have since been released from the hospital. Charges against Reaggle are pending.

Not the First Time a Handcuffed Inmate Has Made a Break for It

Reaggle’s escape attempt is the latest in a long line of bizarre, camera-ready breakouts that prove handcuffs aren’t always as secure as they look. Here are a few other wild attempts that made headlines:

Handcuffed woman wriggles free from police cruiser, takes off on foot (March 2026) — A Michigan woman went viral after squeezing her entire torso through a partially open patrol car window while still cuffed, then bolting from a Muskegon Heights parking lot as officers stood just feet away, unaware. She was caught days later after allegedly breaking into a nearby home.

Caught on Camera: Inmate attempts escape from LASD vehicle on 5 Freeway — A handcuffed suspect in the back of a moving Los Angeles County Sheriff’s cruiser used his head and shoulder to blow out the rear window, then tried to climb out onto the freeway while the car was still driving. He dangled halfway out before falling onto the road and being grabbed by a deputy.

Inmate stabs deputy, steals uniform, carjacks minivan at Detroit courthouse (September 2013) — In a far more dangerous escalation, a Detroit inmate facing sentencing overpowered a deputy with a shank fashioned from a comb, stole his uniform and keys, and fled the courthouse before carjacking a minivan. He was recaptured after a manhunt lasting more than 13 hours.

Inmate Punches Sheriff’s Deputy, Fractures His Eye Socket — A Cook County inmate turned combative while being escorted from a courtroom back to jail, throwing punches that broke a deputy’s eye socket before more than two dozen officers were needed to subdue him.

Search continues for inmate who escaped from Houston courthouse amid brawl in nearby courtroom (October 2023) — While deputies were distracted by an unrelated courtroom brawl, a Houston inmate simply walked out of an unattended holding area, slipping past security in the confusion.

Whether it’s a snapped cuff, a squeeze through a window, or a moment of distraction, these cases are a reminder that even in a courthouse full of armed deputies, a determined inmate can turn a routine transport into a headline in seconds.