Court says pilot should be resentenced for escape attempt

WEST PALM BEACH, FL (AP) -- A state appeals court says a man who led a daring helicopter escape to help a sexual offender get out of a treatment center four years ago should spend at least ten years in prison.Clifford Burkhart was scheduled to get out of prison in less than three months. But the Fourth District Court of Appeal now says he should be returned to a Martin County courtroom and resentenced to a minimum of ten years because a firearm was used in the crime. Burkhart swooped into the Martin County facility's recreation yard June 5th, 2000 and picked up his friend Steven Whitsett. But the helicopter crashed 100 yards outside the state facility. The men were captured the next day a few miles away. Last year, Burkhart pleaded NO contest to escape while possessing a firearm. Circuit Judge Robert Makemson of Stuart sentenced him at the time to four years' prison, with two and a half years credit for time served. Whitsett is serving a 20-year prison