Kansas prison escapee sentenced to 20 years for high-speed chase, shootout

A prison escapee who three years ago led police on a high-speed chase in Platte County while a fellow escapee fired a shotgun at law enforcement officers has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Allen Hurst, 34, pleaded guilty Thursday to his part in the incident and was sentenced the same day.

Hurst admitted that he and a co-defendant, Scott A. Gilbert, 52, escaped from Lansing Correctional Facility in Kansas on May 10, 2013, stole a pickup truck and drove to Platte County. Both men were serving time in Lansing after being convicted of burglary and theft.

When a Platte City police officer tried to stop the truck outside a McDonald’s restaurant, Hurst, who was driving, led several law enforcement officers on a 100 mph pursuit on Interstate 29 and along rural highways.

During the pursuit, Gilbert fired a shotgun multiple times and struck the vehicles of four different law enforcement officers.

Hurst and Gilbert were later arrested in Clinton County. Gilbert was convicted and sentenced to 128 years in prison after a trial in November 2015.

Hurst received sentences of 20 years, to run concurrently, on four counts of assault of a law enforcement officer and four counts of armed criminal action. He was also sentenced to seven years for tampering with a motor vehicle and four years for resisting arrest.

Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd issued a statement on the sentence, saying that even though Hurst never fired a gun during the incident, he was responsible as an accomplice. Hurst will be returned to Kansas where he faces other charges related to his escape.

“The good news is that no police officers were injured in apprehending these two dangerous escaped inmates,” Zahnd said. “But anyone who breaks out of prison, steals a truck, and then shoots at law enforcement officers deserves to go back to prison for a long time.”

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Kansas prison escapee sentenced to 20 years for high-speed chase, shootout."