HOUSTON – A grand jury will reconvene next week to hear more evidence in the case of an escaped inmate found in northeast Houston.
Arcade Comeaux was charged with aggravated kidnapping and felony escape after police say he commandeered a prison transport van, held two guards hostage, stole their weapons, drove the van to Baytown and fled on foot on Nov. 30. He was on his way from the Estelle Unit in Huntsville to a prison in Beaumont at the time of his escape.
Comeaux eluded authorities for a week, until a salesman spotted the convict in his old northeast Houston neighborhood and called police Monday morning.
Comeaux has been in the Montgomery County Jail since his capture, awaiting a Thursday-morning grand jury hearing.
The court convened and the grand jury heard evidence as scheduled, but they said will continue their work on the case in a second session next Thursday.
On Wednesday, Comeaux led authorities to a wooded lot off West Little York and Wayside, where he said he dumped the shotgun and ammo he stole from the guards.
The convicted sexual predator told local activist Quanell X he bribed Texas Department of Criminal Justice employees with drug money. He claims the employees smuggled a handgun inside the Estelle Unit in Huntsville, which the convict was later able to use to overpower the guards in the prison transport van.
"This means he got help on the inside from the very people we rely on to protect us from the inmates," said Quanell X.
TDCJ and the Office of Inspector General are investigating the escape, and prison officials have beefed up security at the Estelle Unit.
"It’s an ongoing and learning process," said Texas Ranger Adolphus Pressley. "In order to know what really happened, we can’t leave any stone unturned."
But State Senator John Whitmire, who chairs the State Senate’s Criminal Justice Committee, wants TDCJ to go even further.
"I want to see a shakedown—not just at the Estelle Unit, but at all of the prisons they run around the state," said Whitmire.
Whitmire is not the only politician demanding action.
Governor Rick Perry has said he wants a thorough investigation and a report on his desk as soon as possible.
Comeaux is already serving three life sentences and has been in and out of the Texas prison system for 30 years.
