By Shavonne Potts
Salisbury Post
A Salisbury man who ran from a courtroom after a judge sentenced him to jail for not paying child support will serve nearly a year behind bars.
Rowan County Chief District Court Judge Charlie Brown sentenced Tyrone Tana Seawood, 32, late last week to a total of 300 days, or 10 months, for charges stemming from his sprint from the courtroom in December.
He was charged with three counts of resisting, obstructing and delaying an officer and three counts of assault on a government official.
Seawood was representing himself in court Dec. 4 when the judge ordered him to jail until he paid the $618.74 he owed in child support. Instead of surrendering, Seawood turned to walk away and kept going.
He ran past courthouse security and into a corridor outside the courtrooms.
As Seawood got closer to the courthouse exit, he was stopped by four Rowan County Sheriff’s deputies and a dog.
During the commotion one of the deputies received a cut to the hand that required stitches.
In court last week, Seawood accepted responsibility for the charges, but also asked Brown for leniency, a witness said.
The judge denied the request and gave Seawood the maximum sentence allowed.
Seawood can only be sentenced to the maximum for two of the most serious charges, which were for assault.
He’ll serve the 10 months at the conclusion of a sentence he’s currently serving.
According to the N.C. Department of Correction, Seawood was convicted in 2006 for felony speeding to elude arrest in Rowan County. He’s currently serving about 10 months for that conviction.
Court records show Seawood had made no child support payments since December 2006.
Contact Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253 or spotts@salisburypost.com.