LARNED – Kevin James Snyder, 59, a resident of the Sexual Predator Treatment Program (SPTP) on the Larned State Hospital campus, made his first appearance in Pawnee County District Court on Friday morning on a felony escape charge.
Snyder appeared by Zoom from the Pawnee County Jail before Magistrate Judge Julie Cowell. He is charged with one count of aggravated escape from custody of the SPTP.
Hospital staff reported Snyder missing to local law enforcement at about 1:05 p.m. Nov. 5. Hospital surveillance footage showed him breaking through a window at the Meyer building at about 3:30 a.m. that day and leaving on foot, the Pawnee County Attorney’s Office said.
The U.S. Marshals Service’s Kansas Fugitive Apprehension Task Force arrested him about 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, in Yoder after a farmer on a tractor saw him near a rail line and called law enforcement. He was arrested without incident. The investigation is continuing.
Pawnee County Attorney Douglas McNett told the court he intends to ask to amend the complaint to add charges of offender registration violations and criminal damage to property.
Cowell advised Snyder of the charge, the possible penalties and his constitutional rights, including the right to an attorney. She appointed Dodge City attorney Samuel Podrebarac to represent him. A preliminary hearing is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24.
If convicted of aggravated escape, Snyder faces 7 to 23 months in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections under state sentencing guidelines, depending on his criminal history.
Bond
Cowell set bond at $40,000 cash or surety but said it was “essentially moot” because of a parole hold. A Lyon County judge has ordered Snyder’s parole revoked. Snyder is also subject to a civil commitment to the SPTP.
“He won’t be able to post bond, even if he was able to afford it,” Cowell said.
McNett told the court that, under the Lyon County order, Snyder would not return to Meyer, a minimum-security housing facility, if he is sent back to the SPTP. He would go to maximum security on the LSH campus. The state recommended that Snyder stay in the Pawnee County Jail, and Cowell ordered him held there.
Push for tougher penalty
McNett’s office has sent state legislators proposed legislation to raise the penalty for escaping from the SPTP and for aiding an escape. Aggravated escape from the program is currently a severity level 8 nonperson felony.
“Each time we have an incident at SPTP/LSH, we reflect on what changes need to occur,” McNett said. He said he has raised concerns about the penalty since Perry Isley first escaped from the SPTP in 2008.
“It seems reasonable to me that if society is concerned enough to civilly commit someone due to their dangerous nature, the penalty for escaping from the treatment program should be at least that, if not more, than someone that escapes from a correctional facility,” McNett said.
Snyder has been designated a sexually violent predator since a 2005 conviction in Lyon County, according to the Kansas Offender Registry.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
