A fleeing inmate who also reportedly tried to carjack a district attorney’s office employee at knifepoint was caught early Friday morning, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) said.
At about 3 a.m., Nigel Thomas Sanders, according to ABC13 Houston, was captured at his mother’s home in the 1400 block of Force St. by the Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force in east Harris County.
The sheriff’s office said there is no threat to public safety, adding that Sanders will face new charges of aggravated robbery and escape for Thursday’s incident.
CrimesChroniclers reports that Sanders is not the only person who will be charged.
Our source, ABC13 Houston, said two more people, identified as his mother and his sister, were arrested for hindering apprehension.
The sheriff’s office said during an update Friday morning that Sanders resisted arrest, so officials deployed a Taser and took him into custody. He’s being treated at the hospital.
Authorities added that they received multiple leads and several law enforcement agencies were involved in searching addresses for the suspect.
Nigel Thomas Sanders was caught at his mother’s house in east Harris County about 12 hours after he escaped the downtown courthouse.
Sanders’ capture on Friday marked the end of a 12-hour search for a man authorities considered dangerous.
HCSO Assistant Chief Philip Bosquez said it all started around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, when the sheriff’s office received word of an escape, prompting the shutdown of the jail complex.
An inmate count uncovered Sanders was missing. They believed he escaped from 1301 Franklin, which is the building adjacent to the criminal courthouse.
Bosquez said Sanders, who has a lengthy criminal history, was in court for three burglary counts and an unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon charge.
After his hearing, Sanders was on his way to the jail when Bosquez said he “facilitated” the escape, even though HCSO didn’t mention specifics.
Sanders got to the building’s sallyport, where an employee was getting into her vehicle.
Bosquez said there, he jumped in and held her at knifepoint.
The woman crashed into several cars, and Sanders took off on foot again.
Bosquez could only say that Sanders got ahold of the knife outside of jail.
The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) earlier issued an alert to students and staff, warning them to “get indoors immediately,” “lock outside doors,” and “avoid windows.”
UHD later said there was no longer an emergency, and the situation was cleared.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg also confirmed that the employee, held against her will, works in her office.
“We are thankful and grateful that she was not physically harmed during this incident,”
“Once he is arrested, we expect to prosecute this defendant and seek justice in this case,” Ogg said.
After the attempted carjacking, Sanders jumped into nearby Buffalo Bayou, wearing his jail-issued black shirt and orange pants.
Sanders has associates in the Cloverleaf area, where he was found.
