MANSFIELD, Ohio -- It was not the perfect escape plan for a 27-year-old Mansfield man dubbed the "parking meter bandit."
Mansfield police arrested the suspect Thursday night after he ran through a tunnel used by Sylvester Stallone last fall during the filming of "Escape Plan 3," which was filmed at the Ohio State Reformatory and other locations in the area.
According to the police report, the suspect was tackled by officers in chest-deep water in a creek, where he continued to fight with the officer, after he exited the tunnel that contains Ritter's Run, a 3.5-mile long stream that begins and ends in the city, throughout the city's business district.
The suspect initially entered the tunnel on South Franklin Street and exited the tunnel at the corner of South Main and West Second streets in a wooded area.
The incident began around 7:30 p.m. Thursday when the man was seen pulling over three double parking meters in the upper parking lot on the east side of the Mansfield Municipal Court building.
Friday, Tyler Bilka, 27, pleaded not guilty in Mansfield Municipal Court to charges of obstructing official business, resisting arrest and felony vandalism.
He remains in the Richland County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond and personal recognizance bond and was ordered electronic monitoring should he make bail, according to the court.
Bilka was transported to OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, where he was released after treatment for injuries including a cut to his right knee and swelling to his left eye.
Damage to the meters is estimated at $2,550, according to the Mansfield police report.
