A guilty defendant has casually walked out of a courtroom to freedom, all without anyone noticing.
The man at the center of the gobsmacking moment is Joey Watts, who was in an Arkansas court facing charges of aggravated assault and felony possession of a firearm after he threatened an elderly woman with a shotgun at his home in November 2018.
However, while the jury was out of the court making their final deliberations, Watts just stood up and walked straight out of the Grant County Courthouse in Sheridan.
Talk about gutsy!
Watts had already been found guilty of the assault charges that he was facing at the time of the escape, with the jury also finding him guilty of the firearms charges later on.
As the mind-blowing video shows, all eyes were off Watts as he brazenly strutted out of the courthouse to get a taste of freedom with his handcuffs still on.
According to a video posted by the documentary channel A&E, the wannabe Edmund Dantes was eventually apprehended by authorities the next day and sent to jail.
Deputy Prosecutor Norman Frisby, who was in charge of trying the case, said that Watts simply stood up from next to his attorney and left. The footage showed everyone in the courthouse appearing distracted or not paying attention to Watts who, in the absence of a bailiff, easily managed to leave.
Watts then proceeded to walk down the stairs, down a hallway, and out of the building. Frisby said Watts' attorney had told him not to leave but he decided to anyway.
Grant County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Pete Roberts told NBC News: "He was out on bond and had not been convicted so this allowed him to move around." The deputy prosecutor then added that a second bailiff was not present to prevent Watts from leaving. At the time of the 2019 incident, it was revealed that Grants County was in the process of hiring a second bailiff.
After being apprehended by police, three other people were also arrested and charged with a class C felony for their involvement in helping Watts leave the courthouse, according to the outlet. The jury on the case eventually sentenced Watts to 36 years in prison. This included 10 years for his assault charge and a further 26 years for possession of a firearm.
