Guilty plea given, prison sentence issued in 2020 standoff
Jun. 20—A Quinlan man has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to multiple indictments.
But the two most serious charges Ethan Lee Tidwell was facing, armed robbery and burglary, filed in connection with a series of incidents in the south end of the county in early 2020, were dismissed.
Tidwell, 31, was arrested on February 27, 2020.
The Hunt County grand jury Friday filed one indictment each on charges of aggravated robbery, burglary of a habitation and harassment of a public servant involving a series of incidents.
A report from the sheriff's office at the time of the arrest indicated Tidwell was charged on two counts of assault on a public servant and one count each of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon, aggravated robbery, fraudulent use/possession of identifying information 10-50 items, burglary of a habitation intending other felony and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
The agency reported it was notified at around 11 a.m. February 27 about a subject holding at least one person against their will inside a residence in the 2500 block of Private Road 2410.
Upon arrival deputies made contact with the female victim who said Tidwell had assaulted her repeatedly overnight and that he was armed with a handgun inside the residence. As deputies were attempting to negotiate his surrender, Tidwell exited the residence and fled on foot into a wooded area and it was believed he was still armed with at least one firearm. A second female victim was located inside the residence and both were transported to area hospitals for treatment.
A large scale search was begun which included several law enforcement agencies and the Department of Public Safety helicopter but Tidwell was not located.
That evening the Quinlan Police Department had been informed Tidwell had taken a homeowner at gunpoint and forced him to drive to a bank in Quinlan to withdraw cash and then had the victim drop him off at the Metro PCS store.
The Quinlan Police Department, Hunt County Sheriff's Office, and West Tawakoni Police Department surrounded the business and took Tidwell into custody. During the arrest Tidwell was reported to have assaulted the officers.
The robbery indictment was a first degree felony, which carries a maximum sentence upon conviction of from five to 99 years rot life in prison, while the burglary of a habitation indictment carried a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison and the harassment of a public servant a sentence of up to 10 years in prison upon conviction.
Tidwell pleaded guilty Wednesday during a hearing in the 196th District Court to the harassment indictment and an indictment of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and was sentenced to eight years in prison, with 477 days credit for time served.
The aggravated robbery and burglary indictments were dismissed, as was an indictment for theft of property of between $2,500 and $30,000 which was connected to an incident in September 2019.
