A Ligonier man's attempted leap to freedom into the chilly Conemaugh River last year has netted him up to six years in prison. John Kurtz, 40, was sentenced Thursday for fleeing deputy sheriffs who attempted to serve five arrests warrants in April. To elude authorities, Kurtz was driven by his girlfriend through New Florence and Seward, then jumped about 30 feet off a bridge into the Conemaugh River. In court yesterday, Westmoreland County Judge John Blahovec sentenced Kurtz to three to six years in state prison on charges related to his failed dive to freedom. "You need a sentence of total confinement. With sheriffs chasing you and you jumping off a bridge, I wonder what's next," Blahovec said. "If I can't give you a period of incarceration, I can't give it to anybody." According to court records, Kurtz had been wanted for violating the terms of his parole on a series of burglary and drug cases. Sheriff deputies went to his home April 10, but Kurtz and his girlfriend at the time, Melissa Albaugh, fled when they saw authorities approach. Officials said Albaugh drove Kurtz with her two young daughters in the back seat. As the car stopped on a Route 711 bridge that links Indiana and Westmoreland counties, Kurtz got out of the car. One deputy fired a Taser gun at Kurtz, but it missed its mark. Kurtz then jumped into the river and swam to a metal support span under the bridge, where he was stranded for about 45 minutes until rescue crews pulled him to safety. Kurtz had been in and out of jail for the last several years, including at least one stretch in 2006 when he mistakenly was discharged from county lockup. On April 10, 2006, Kurtz was released from jail after serving one year of an 11 1/2- to 23-month sentence. Officials failed to fit him with a court-ordered electronic monitoring device and he should not have been released without it, according to a judge's order. Six weeks after he was released, Kurtz was back in jail on allegations he violated parole conditions by failing to enroll in the electronic monitoring program. He tested positive for cocaine when he was rearrested in May, authorities said. In July, Albaugh, 28, pleaded guilty to hindering the apprehension of a suspect, child endangerment and other related offenses. She was sentenced to a jail term of 88 days to 23 months.

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