Man gets life after breaking into home with teen inside - wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |

Man gets life after breaking into home with teen inside

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LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC (WIS) -

A Leesville man with a lengthy criminal history will spend the rest of his life in prison after a 17-year-old hid in a closet while he burglarized her family's home.

57-year-old Richard D. Hatchell was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to first degree burglary and failure to stop for a blue light before going to trial.

Hatchell broke into a home on Semm Sease Road in Gilbert in November of 2011. The owners of the house were not home, but their sick 17-year-old was.

She hid in a laundry room and called 911 while he rummaged through the house.

When Lexington county deputies arrived, he fled in a van with jewelry and other items from the home.

Deputies were able to disable his van after a 6-mile chase and return the stolen items to the family.

Hatchell's criminal record included nine other burglaries, among other crimes, in six other counties dating back to the 1970's.

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