Inmate accused of escaping from Texarkana Federal Penitentiary in April charged

TEXARKANA, Texas – An indictment filed Thursday in federal court in Texarkana accuses an inmate of escaping from the Texarkana Federal Correctional Institution in April.

Matthew Walter Kite, 26, was serving more than five years in prison for his role in a South Texas methamphetamine trafficking organization when he allegedly escaped from the Texarkana FCI on April 24, court records show. Kite was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison by a federal judge in the Western District of Texas in September 2021 and was housed at the Texarkana prison when he allegedly escaped from custody.

Kite was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and booked into the Williamson County Jail on July 24, records show. Kite is from Leander, Texas, a city in Williamson County near Austin.

Kite is currently being held at a federal prison in San Antonio, according to the Bureau of Prisons website. According to the BOP, Kite will finish serving his sentence for the drug offense in April of next year. However, if he is convicted of escape, he could face up to five more years behind bars.

He also faces a fine of up to $250,000, according to a penalty notice attached to the indictment.

Kite has not yet appeared before a federal judge on the escape charge. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Richards is representing the government.

The case is currently before U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III in the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division.