Published: March 16, 2007 09:43 am      

Parker County jury upholds jail escapee’s life sentence

Special to the Democrat

The life sentence a Parker County jury gave a 43-year-old Arlington man last June for escaping from the Parker County Jail was affirmed last Thursday by the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth.

In his appeal, John Andrew Napoleon claimed that a juror should not have been allowed to serve because he was biased against members of the Aryan Brotherhood, a group to which Napoleon was linked during trial.

“The Aryan Brotherhood is a violent prison gang known for their white supremacist views,” said Parker County District Attorney Don Schnebly.

The appellate court ruled that Napoleon “did not show that he was harmed” by District Judge Don Chrestman's denial of his challenge to the juror and overruled that claim.

Napoleon also claimed that Assistant District Attorneys Kathleen Catania and Robert DuBoise who tried the case made statements during closing argument that went outside of the evidenc presented

at trial.

After an extensive review of the trial testimony, the court of appeals ruled that “the comments the prosecutor made during closing argument were merely a recitation of the admitted testimony” and were, therefore, appropriate. The court concluded that “there was no error in the trial court's judgment”and upheld Napoleon's conviction for escape and life sentence.

According to testimony presented during the trial, Napoleon was brought to the jail from the state penitentiary in September, 2005 to face felony theft charges. He was serving 15 year sentences on three Tarrant County cases at the time, two drug possession charges and a felony weapons charge.

Shortly after arriving at the Parker County Jail, Napoleon was made a trustee working at a county woodworking facility located on Bethel Road. On November 4, he faked an illness and went to the

restroom. When Napoleon did not return to work about 20 to 30 minutes later, the trustee supervisor went to the restroom to locate Napoleon and found that he had disappeared.

After the escape was reported, a large scale manhunt involving officers from multiple agencies began. Napoleon was found and arrested in Fort Worth about nine hours after he left the woodworking facility.

During the trial, prosecutors introduced testimony showing how Napoleon had orchestrated the escape two days in advance, had someone pick him up, take him to Fort Worth, cut his hair, gave him a change of clothes, and take him to a prearranged safe house. He was later apprehended at a home across from the safe house in a residence owned by the same person.

Prosecutors also introduced exhibits showing that, in addition to the convictions for which Napoleon was already in prison, he had convictions for two felony check charges, two felony welfare fraud

cases, three felony drug charges, and two misdemeanor theft cases.

In an interview with Napoleon played during the trial, he admitted his involvement in a murder, burglaries, kidnapping, identity theft, drug manufacturing and dealing, and auto theft. He also said that he held a leadership role in a white

supremacist prison gang.

“I can't think of an escapee more deserving of a life sentence than Mr. Napoleon,” Catania said. “He is a violent man who has demonstrated that he is not willing to live by the rules of our society.”

According to Assistant District Attorney Eddy Lewallen, who handled the appeal for the prosecution, Napoleon could still appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal appeals court. “Since that court has the discrestion to choose which cases it hears and since there are no novel or significant legal issues in ths case, I doubt that they would grant Napoleon a hearing,” Lewallen said.

Napoleon will first become eligible for parole in 2020, Schnebly said.