HOUSTON — A man was captured Thursday morning, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, after escaping a 19th-floor downtown Houston courtroom on Tuesday morning when his bond was revoked.
Officials with HCSO said Michael Devon Combs, 32, simply walked out of the courthouse when a fight broke out in a courtroom down the hall.
It happened at the Harris County courthouse on Franklin Street downtown around 10 a.m. on Tuesday when a fight broke out during Frank DeLeon Jr.'s murder trial. The sheriff's office posted that he had been captured at 10:25 a.m. on Thursday.
According to HCSO Major Lynette Anderson, when the fight broke out during DeLeon's trial, someone hit the panic button and deputies left the courtroom where Combs' hearing was taking place.
When everyone left, Combs removed his shackles, got on an elevator, and left the courthouse. He was also able to remove his ankle monitor, according to Anderson.
Officials said Combs was left unattended by deputies, which was not protocol for the situation. Anderson said someone should have stayed in the courtroom with him.
Anderson said the HCSO gang task force was searching for Combs, who was in court on charges related to assaulting his significant other. Officials said the HCSO Warrants Unit and the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders and Fugitive Task Force were also searching for him.
Here's the update provided by Anderson on Tuesday afternoon: