GI man to spend life in prison on charges related to escape, hostage situation

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — A Grand Island man convicted on multiple charges after he ran away from corrections officers and took a man hostage during a 12-hour standoff will spend the rest of his life in prison.

GI MAN CHARGED FOLLOWING MARCH HOSTAGE SITUATION

Tyler Manka, 28, was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison on one count of kidnapping. In addition to this charge, he was sentenced to an additional 110 to 140 years total on charges of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, burglary, terroristic threats and escape.

He was sentenced to one year in prison each on charges of resisting arrest and obstructing a peace officer. These sentences are concurrent, meaning they will be served at the same time as the other sentences.

Manka has been serving a total 60 to 91 years in prison on other, unrelated charges.

JURY FINDS MANKA GUILTY IN HALL COUNTY ESCAPE CASE

In March 2022, Grand Island Police said Manka was taken to CHI Health-St. Francis for medical treatment. He escaped the custody of corrections officials and ran toward Regency Care Center, 803 Alpha Street.

GIPD Capt. Jim Duering said two citizens – an ER doctor and a passerby – pursued Manka and tracked him down as he ran down the street toward Regency.

Once at Regency, Duering said Manka used a piece of a chair to break his way into the facility, run through it and into the back door before going to an apartment at 192 Stoeger Drive.

That apartment was occupied by the 60-year-old male who Manka took as a hostage and kept in a corner of a room of the apartment.

The complaint outlining the charges states Manka allegedly used a screwdriver to threaten the man.

What followed were tenuous hours of negotiations and the deployment of the Grand Island Police Department Tactical Response team, negotiators, additional officers, as well as members of the Hall County Sheriff’s Department and the Nebraska State Patrol.

Tactical operations were turned over to the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT team due to the length of the incident while negotiations continued.

The Nebraska State Patrol SWAT team was able to make entry into the room, safely rescue the hostage and take Manka into custody.