Escaped Blair County inmate pleads guilty, risks life in prison

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) — An inmate who escaped the Blair County Prison in December pleaded guilty Monday to charges in that case, as well as the case that initially put him in pre-trial confinement.

With his jury waiting just down the hallway to enter the courtroom for the first day of the scheduled trial, Isaiah Robert Tilghman, Jr. pleaded guilty to conspiracy, drug delivery, escape and theft. But in a decision that shocked even the district attorney, he refused to accept the negotiated sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.

Tilghman is now scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 5. But that sentencing could result in him spending even longer in prison than what he would have if he had accepted the negotiated sentence, even up to the rest of his life.

When the judge asked Tilghman why he did not want to accept the negotiated offer, he said it’s because he felt the offer was more aggressive and would prefer to leave his sentencing up to the discretion of the court. Tilghman claimed that he was under the impression that the plea offer was for only a sentence of 15 years in prison, but Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks said that offer was taken off the table nearly two weeks ago.

“I certainly was not going to make the original offer that was done before a jury had been selected and this entire week had been set aside to try this defendant’s case, but at the request of the court, I did make another offer as 20 to 40 years,” said Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks.

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Weeks explained that for the felony charges Tilghman pleaded guilty to, standard sentencing guidelines provide for a sentence of 51 to 56 years in prison. If Tilghman were to receive the maximum sentence at the judge’s discretion, he would face 170 years in prison.

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