HOUSTON — A jail inmate who escaped from custody in downtown Houston last week appeared before a judge Monday morning on new charges of aggravated robbery and escape.
Security was heavy with several extra law enforcement officers in the courtroom when Nigel Sanders was brought in.
Prosecutors want Sanders, 24, to remain jailed without bond.
"We certainly will fight that or ask for a reasonable bail," defense attorney Todd Dupont told us.
There will be another hearing to address the bond motion later this week.
How Harris County Jail inmate escaped
Court documents detailed how Sanders escaped last Thursday while being transferred from the courthouse back to jail through a secured tunnel. He wasn't handcuffed at the time, HCSO said.
A deputy watching surveillance cameras said he saw an inmate in a jail uniform and black hoodie leaving through an unsecured door in a separate area.
"This behavior was extremely unusual and alarming because it indicated that an inmate had escaped from the jail," the deputy said in the charging document.
The jail immediately went into lockdown mode. A headcount using barcodes on bracelets determined it was Sanders who had escaped.
The deputy who noticed the inmate leave began searching for a breach. He found a hole in a ceiling on the secure side of the tunnels. HCSO said Sanders climbed through the hole and crawled through the ceiling to the unsecured side on his way back from court.
Sanders reportedly found an unlocked room where he was able to steal a custodian’s sweatshirt and pocketknife.
Then, prosecutors said he carjacked a female employee of the Harris County DA's Office at knifepoint. After she crashed her SUV, Sanders took off on foot and was the target of a 12-hour manhunt that shut down several downtown streets.
Hours later, Sanders was found hiding behind a couch at his mother's house and arrested.
His mother, Kathryn Gomez Sanders, also appeared in court on charges she helped hide her son.
"Her participation in this was extremely, extremely minimal," William Van Buren, the mother's attorney, said.
Her bond was set at $75,000.
Another woman accused of helping Sanders hide appeared in another courtroom. We were previously told that Zana Tyler is Sanders' sister but HCSO now says she's a family friend.
Her attorney said she was concerned about her safety when asked about Sanders' whereabouts in front of his mother.
"She did tell the police that he was inside and where he was once they took her outside of the apartment, but when they came into the residence and asked her that, she did not tell them that he was there," attorney Tonya McLaughlin said. "So I think that it is likely that, she felt more comfortable when she was outside with the police."
Tyler's bond was set at $15,000.