FLORENCE, Ala. ( WHNT ) — A Florence man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder of a police officer in 2016, escaping custody multiple times and promoting prison contraband.
On September 17, Lauderdale County Chief Assistant District Attorney Angie Hamilton told News 19 that Christopher Wayne Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to attempted murder, two counts of second-degree escape, third-degree escape and possession of prison contraband. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
He is currently in federal prison serving a prior sentence. When he completes that sentence, Hamilton said he will be moved to the Alabama Department of Corrections.
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Kilpatrick was charged with attempted murder of a police officer after a standoff with Florence Police officers and detectives, and a fight with Detective Michael Price in the woods where shots were fired, while he was wanted for not returning to work release custody.
In 2015, Kilpatrick was arrested for second-degree assault with a knife and disorderly conduct. He was then released on bond on January 7, 2016.
He was then arrested and charged on February 22, 2016, for third-degree burglary, first-degree theft, three counts of breaking and entering a motor vehicle, fraudulent use of a credit card, third-degree theft of property and fourth-degree theft of property.
Court documents show that on July 7, 2016, Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of third-degree assault, stemming from his 2015 arrest. He was then sentenced to 12 months of Lauderdale County work release.
Less than a month into that sentence, he was charged with third-degree escape because he did not return to the work release center after failing a breathalyzer.
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While Kilpatrick was on the run, Florence Police Chief Ron Tyler said Detective Michael Price was investigating a string of thefts from Florence to Wayne County. Detective Sgt. Brad Holmes then saw a truck believed to be stolen from a nearby church pull into the Dollar General on Chisholm Road. Holmes asked Price for backup to check out the truck and the driver.
According to Chief Tyler, Kilpatrick was in the truck and ran from the detectives. Backup officers arrived on the scene to help Holmes and Price because Holmes stayed with the other men in the truck and Price chased after Kilpatrick.
Price chased him into the woods where there was a fight. Chief Tyler said Kilpatrick had a gunshot wound to his abdomen and had a gun lying next to him when backup officers arrived to take the gun and provide medical care until paramedics arrived.
He was arrested for first-degree theft of property, breaking and entering a motor vehicle and second-degree theft of property in addition to third-degree escape.
While he was in jail, he was charged with first-degree promoting prison contraband on January 19, 2017. Court documents show Kilpatrick made a deadly weapon, a shank, which court documents show may have been used for escape.
On April 9, 2017, authorities said Kilpatrick escaped from the Lauderdale County Detention Center the previous night . A detention deputy said the pipe chase was open and Kilpatrick was missing. He placed books on his bed and stuffed socks to make it look like he was in his bed. Video footage showed Kilpatrick jumping off the roof on April 8, 2017.
On April 15, the Florence Police Department posted that Kilpatrick was arrested and in custody. He was given an additional charge of second-degree escape.
Then, on December 17, 2017, Kilpatrick escaped again from the Lauderdale County Detention Center. Authorities first learned of his escape when Kilpatrick’s parents called. They told police he stopped at their home Saturday night.
Chief Deputy Richard Richey, with the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office , said Kilpatrick was trying to run from police in Macon County, Tennesse, when he crashed the vehicle he was driving into another vehicle.
Investigators believed he was on his way to the Gatlinburg area at the time of his arrest. Richey said overcrowding and an old jail facility are to blame for the escape. He was charged with another count of second-degree escape.
On September 10, 2024, Kilpatrick motioned to amend his plea from ‘Not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect’ to ‘Not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect,’ before he ultimately entered the guilty plea on Tuesday.
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