Monday, November 26, 2012

A prisoner who walked away from a halfway house in Leavenworth has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of escape from custody.

Timothy Whittington admitted Monday that he left the Grossman Community Corrections Center in Leavenworth on July 19 and reported to work at a convenience store in Kansas City, Kan. Video footage showed him removing $1,500 from the safe before leaving work.

He never returned to the halfway house. Authorities arrested him on July 25.

Sentencing was set for March 11. The plea deal included a recommendation for a 20-month sentence.

Whittington had been initially sentenced in 2006 to 103 months for possession of a short-barreled shotgun. He had been transferred to the halfway house in April to serve the remainder of his sentence before escaping.