Death row inmate escapes in civilian clothes

[LeiZaK]

Text

(CNN) -- A Texas death row inmate escaped from the Harris County Jail in Houston on Thursday, dressed in civilian clothes and carrying identification indicating he worked in the attorney general's office, a sheriff's department spokesman said.

Charles Victor Thompson, 35, was convicted of capital murder in April 1999 in the shooting deaths of his former girlfriend, Dannise Hayslip, and her friend, Darren Cain, 30.

The convict, who was re-sentenced to death Monday, slipped out of the jail around 3:30 p.m., wearing khaki pants, a dark blue shirt and white tennis shoes, according to sheriff's Lt. John Martin.(See video of the daring escape -- 1:28)

"He also had sort of a tag or an ID that indicated he was with the attorney general's office," Martin said.

He said he didn't know whether Thompson escaped on foot or in a vehicle.

"We definitely believe him to be dangerous," Martin told CNN Thursday night.

Thompson had been released from his cell block for a visit with his attorney in a private booth, where Plexiglas separates inmates from attorneys, Martin said.

The room is not monitored by authorities and no deputies are present in the room -- an effort to protect attorney-client privilege. Only a few sheets of paper could be slipped under the window, he said.

"He managed to change out of the orange jumpsuit that inmates commonly wear," Martin said. "The inmate jumpsuit was found in the attorney booth."

It was not immediately clear whether Thompson had had an attorney visit him on Thursday, or whether he had merely gone to the area on the pretense of seeing his lawyer.

Thompson went from the attorney booth to the floor's control center, where he told a deputy that he was conducting an investigation with the attorney general's office, Martin said.

"He was convincing enough that he was able to convince one of our deputies to let him out of the facility," he said.

When did authorities realize a death row inmate had simply walked out their doors?

"We realized it almost immediately," he said. "This was obviously something that was pre-planned."

The new sentencing hearing was ordered by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which had upheld Thompson's conviction.

Martin said Thompson was brought to the county jail in May, and it was unclear when he would have been returned to the Department of Corrections and death row.

The Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force was aiding the search.

Martin said it had been several years since anyone escaped from the jail.

"This is extremely rare, especially for someone who has been sentenced to death on a capital murder charge."

 

[Medicine Bear]

[Guinness]Brilliant!![/Guinness]

 

[Baked]

Texas... enough said.

 

[halik]

damn.... smart guy i guess. The scary part is that right now he's got absolutely nothing to lose, so good luck trying to catch him. I'd imagine the guy is really motivated...

 

[dainthomas]

If the guy was smart, he'd be in Mexico on his way to Brazil. But this is Texas, so that means he's probably drinking beer in his brother's trailer or something.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: dainthomas
If the guy was smart, he'd be in Mexico on his way to Brazil. But this is Texas, so that means he's probably drinking beer in his brother's trailer or something.

why brazil?

 

[Medicine Bear]

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: dainthomas
If the guy was smart, he'd be in Mexico on his way to Brazil. But this is Texas, so that means he's probably drinking beer in his brother's trailer or something.

why brazil?

Have you seen the women that live there? That's why.

 

[Mail5398]

I would go to Venezuela. They would hail him as a conquering hero killing useless capitalist pig Americans.

 

[DingDingDao]

Originally posted by: Medicine Bear
[Guinness]Brilliant!![/Guinness]

:laugh:

 

[silverpig]

Damn if I was on death row and got out, I'd be sure as hell NO ONE would ever find me.

 

[0roo0roo]

escaping from death row... i'm impressed.

 

[StrangerGuy]

OWNED!

 

[Eli]

Jared, is that you? :laugh:

 

[Googer]

Reminds me of the WWII General who was a POW in a Mississippi army jail. He escaped from the Jail undectected and where did he go to? He escaped and checked him self in the the Heidelburg Hotel just a few miles down the road. He then wrote a letter from his hotel room to the President of the USA complaining about the how he was not enjoying the prison life.



http://www.kilroywashere.org/004-Pages/JAN-Area/04-D-Jackson-POW.html

 

[rh71]

captured

 

[gotsmack]

if you ever have to leave the country, go to Mexico or as far away as you can. Then go join the French Foreign Legion, serve for a few years, and live it up in the E.U.

 

[Ricemarine]

Originally posted by: rh71
captured

Now why did he go to Louisiana...

He should've gone to Mexico.

 

[rh71]

The dude right now is too intoxicated to be interviewed. They walked up to him (outside a liquor store) and was asked his name and just said "you know who I am..." (then said his name). Who knows what's going through this guy's mind... he had a chance to really escape and he chooses to get drunk.

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: Ricemarine

Originally posted by: rh71
captured

Now why did he go to Louisiana...

He should've gone to Mexico.

serious, wtf.

 

[ThePresence]

Busted.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Texas death row prisoner who made a slick escape from jail in Houston on Thursday was captured on Sunday at a liquor store in Shreveport, Louisiana, too drunk to be interrogated, police said.

Shreveport police and U.S. Marshals, acting on a tip, arrested Charles Victor Thompson with little resistance outside the store, they said.

"You know who I am," Thompson, 35, told police when they asked his name.

U.S. Marshals Service spokeswoman Marianne Matus said Thompson was too drunk to be questioned about his escape and how he got to Shreveport, which is the near the border with northeastern Texas.

"He was pretty intoxicated. He was pretty impaired," said Lt. John Martin of Harris County Sheriff's Office in Houston.

Thompson slipped out of handcuffs, donned civilian clothes and pretended to be a law enforcement official to bluff his way out of the Harris County Jail in downtown Houston.

A week before he had been sentenced by a Houston jury to death for the second time for the 1998 murder of his former girlfriend and her new boyfriend.

An earlier death sentence had been thrown out by the courts on a legal technicality.

He was being held in the local jail awaiting transfer back to death row in Livingston, Texas where he had been for six years.

Police believe he had help in making his escape, but said the matter was still being investigated.

 

[0roo0roo]

and i thought he was smart and stuff for pulling an amazing escape....

what an ass, i guess he does deserve to die.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: dainthomas
If the guy was smart, he'd be in Mexico on his way to Brazil. But this is Texas, so that means he's probably drinking beer in his brother's trailer or something.

heh, wow, you called that one on the dot.. well, the drunken part anyway