Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Wheelchair-Bound Prisoner Escapes On Foot

Yikes.  Some heads should roll on this one. 

The 6-foot, 200-pound Comeaux was serving a life sentence for aggravated sexual assault and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

A van containing him and two correctional officers left the Estelle prison in Huntsville about 5:45 a.m. Monday, bound for the Stiles prison in Beaumont, where Comeaux was being reassigned, said Michelle Lyons, director of public information for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville, in a written statement.

Comeaux was shackled and in a wheelchair, “which he had claimed was needed for mobility,” Lyons said.

About 45 minutes into the trip, as they were driving through Conroe, 40 minutes north of Houston, the prisoner pulled out a pistol and ordered the guards to drive south to Baytown, east of Houston. There, he took one of the guards’ gray uniforms, handcuffed the officers together and left them in the rear of the van, Lyon’s statement said.

He fired once during the incident but hit no one, an official said.

Comeaux fled at about 9 a.m., leaving his weapon but taking the officers’ two semiautomatic pistols and a 12-gauge shotgun, Lyons said.

Law enforcement officers found the unharmed officers an hour later.

Comeaux was being transferred to Beaumont so he would be near John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, for treatment of the supposed paralysis he had suffered during a reported stroke, Whitmire said.

(1) Comments
Posted by Owen at 2139 hrs
Law + Politics + Politics - Texas

  1. Wow! There are some really simple tests to determine if someone is paralysized and apparently they couldn’t get a doctor, PA, or a nurse practicioner in there to do them??

    Heads should roll on this one. And how did the guy get a gun?!

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 02, 2009 at 2156 hrs


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