In this screenshot of security footage from the Lewis County Courthouse, Kodey Howard, wearing the solid-colored jail garb, and Tanner Jacobson, wearing the striped jail garb, make a run for the door in Lewis County District Court.
Kodey Howard makes an appearance in Lewis County Superior Court Wednesday Oct. 17, 2018.
Kodey Howard, a man who was caught on camera fleeing from Lewis County District Court, pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to second-degree escape and two other unrelated charges.
Howard, 28, of Winlock, will be sentenced 9 a.m. Nov. 20 in Lewis County Superior Court Department 2 with Judge James Lawler presiding.
He also admitted guilt to unrelated counts of third-degree theft and first-degree trafficking in stolen property. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the theft charge was bumped down from a second-degree to a third-degree offense, and an additional felony count of burglary was dismissed in the trafficking case.
The theft charge stems from Howard snatching a purse in March.
Howard, through attorney Jacob Clark, maintained that he was innocent regarding the burglary and trafficking charges, saying another individual got him roped into the situation. Howard opted for an Alford plea — meaning he insists he’s innocent, but agrees that the evidence would still likely result in a conviction. Clark said Howard was willing to take the guilty plea, if it meant the burglary charge is dismissed.
The escape charge stems from an incident that seized international attention when Howard and another inmate, Tanner D. Jacobson, 22, of Onalaska were caught on camera making a run from a District Court hearing, while still handcuffed and in jail garb. Judge R.W. Buzzard gave chase, seizing Howard in the Lewis County Law and Justice Center stairwell, just as he was primed to make it out an emergency exit.
Jacobson was arrested blocks away by deputies. He has a jury trial scheduled for Dec. 17 as of Thursday afternoon.
Video of the two running and the judge giving chase was shared far and wide, with the story and video being printed, broadcast and posted by countless national and international media outlets.
Since the incident, foot shackles have been added to Howard’s wardrobe anytime he’s appeared to hearings.
In a recent interview with The Chronicle, Buzzard called the situation a dangerous one that could have resulted in the injury of a citizen. The incident, ironically, came in the midst of ongoing discussion of courthouse security, said Buzzard, adding that courthouse personnel have tossed around the notion of upping the armed presence in the courthouse, among other things.
