A violent Ohio defendant turned a routine sentencing hearing into a chaotic courthouse escape attempt after breaking free from his handcuffs and attacking two law enforcement officers.
Timothy J. Reaggle, 21, of Wellsville, Ohio, snapped his handcuffs, turned, and launched an all-out assault on the deputies escorting him through the Columbiana County Courthouse.
He almost made it out the front doors.
On Monday afternoon, Reaggle stood before Judge Scott Washam in Common Pleas Court to be sentenced on reduced charges stemming from a February 14, 2025, attack in St. Clair Township.
Court records show he headbutted a woman in the face after she told him to leave, tackled and beat a man outside the residence, held a knife to another man’s neck while threatening him, and then fled from police, Morning Journal News reported.
He pleaded guilty in July to a lesser third-degree felony aggravated burglary, fourth-degree felony aggravated assault, misdemeanor failure to comply, aggravated menacing, and two counts of assault. The prosecutor asked for 15 months. The judge gave him 12. Reaggle was out on bond until that moment.
According to Salem News, as bailiff Keith Thorn (also a Wellsville village councilman) cuffed him in front and began walking him out, Reaggle muttered that the sentence was “f*ing bull**.” The judge heard it, stopped the proceedings, and dressed him down. Reaggle was crying as he left the courtroom. That didn’t last.
In the hallway, he broke the front handcuffs, spun around, and throat-punched Thorn, dropping him to the floor. One deputy was later seen bloodied, holding a paper towel to his face.
Reaggle then charged full speed and absolutely trucked security bailiff Steve Boyd before barreling into the stairwell. Deputy Nick Rusyn chased him down the stairs.
At the bottom, Deputy Coltan Vollnogle and Detective Jesse Smith tried to stop him. Reaggle broke free again and made a break for the front doors.
He was tased just before reaching the outside and wrestled back into custody. He never made it out of the building.
Sheriff Brian McLaughlin confirmed both deputies suffered broken bones. They were treated at the hospital and released; neither was back at work the next day.
New charges, expected to include felony assault on peace officers, felony escape, and resisting arrest, will go through the grand jury. Reaggle is being transported to prison to start serving the original year while the new case proceeds, according to WFMJ.
