Surveillance video shows Timothy J. Reaggle breaking free from restraints and running toward an exit after his sentencing hearing.
LISBON, OH — A man sentenced to a year in prison broke free from handcuffs and injured two security bailiffs during an attempted escape from the Columbiana County Courthouse, according to authorities and video released after the incident.
Timothy J. Reaggle of Wellsville was leaving a sentencing hearing Monday, Sept. 14, when the confrontation began on the courthouse’s second floor. Authorities said Reaggle had been handcuffed and was being escorted toward a holding cell when he broke free, struck one bailiff and ran down a hallway. He knocked down another bailiff before heading into a stairwell and toward the building’s front doors. Deputies stopped him before he made it outside.
Security video released after the incident shows the confrontation unfolding rapidly. Reaggle can be seen moving away from the escorting bailiff and running through the courthouse as officers respond. He continued down the stairs and toward the first-floor exit before deputies caught up with him. Authorities said a deputy used a Taser during the effort to take him back into custody.
The two injured court security officers were identified in local reporting as Keith Thorn and Steve Boyd. Both were taken for medical treatment following the incident. Authorities later said both had been released from hospitals, although their injuries required additional recovery time. Columbiana County Sheriff Brian McLaughlin told news outlets that both suffered broken bones.
The escape attempt happened shortly after Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam sentenced Reaggle to 12 months in prison in a case stemming from a Feb. 14, 2025, incident in St. Clair Township. Reaggle had pleaded guilty in July to a reduced third-degree felony count of aggravated burglary, a reduced fourth-degree felony count of aggravated assault, misdemeanor failure to comply with a police order, aggravated menacing and two misdemeanor assault counts.
According to court reporting on the earlier case, prosecutors said Reaggle assaulted several people during the 2025 encounter and later fled from police. Reaggle had been free on bond when he appeared for sentencing. Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Weeda had requested a 15-month prison sentence, while defense attorney Paul Conn sought community control, citing Reaggle’s age and lack of a prior record.
After imposing the one-year sentence, court security placed Reaggle in handcuffs for removal from the courtroom. Witnesses told local reporters that he broke the restraints while being escorted down the hallway, then struck Thorn and ran. He collided with Boyd farther down the hall before reaching the stairwell, where additional sheriff’s personnel responded.
Deputies pursued Reaggle to the first floor, where he briefly broke away from officers near the bottom of the stairs before a deputy deployed a Taser near the courthouse security station. Officers then restrained him again and transported him to the Columbiana County Jail. Sheriff officials said the original handcuffs appeared to have been broken during the incident.
McLaughlin initially said investigators were considering possible counts including felony assault against law enforcement officers, felony escape and resisting arrest. A later update from sheriff’s Capt. Ryan Pike said any charges connected to the courthouse incident would instead be presented through the grand jury while the investigation continued. The precise charges, if any are returned, will depend on that process.
Reaggle is expected to serve the one-year prison sentence imposed in the earlier case while authorities continue investigating the courthouse incident. Officials said he never made it outside the building. No date for further proceedings connected to the attempted escape had been announced in the latest available reports.
Author note: Last updated September 18, 2026.