GALVESTON, Texas --Early Tuesday evening, authorities from several agencies called off a search near the Buc-ee’s store in Madisonville for an inmate who escaped from the Galveston County jail Monday evening.
Authorities think Dominic Potter, 38, is probably heading north toward his hometown of Fort Worth. He had been held in the Galveston County Jail since early November.
The sheriff said during a traffic stop, officers discovered Potter had two theft warrants out of Tarrant County, and when they searched his car, they found materials to forge money. He was booked for a forgery of government document on a $50,000 bond.
Now, Galveston County’s Sheriff is looking into why the jail’s sally port truck gate was open Monday night, allowing Potter to escape.
“The gate was open, he saw his chance, and he took it,” said Sheriff Henry Trochesset, who said the last escape in Galveston like this he can recall happened in the mid-1980s at a different facility.
A crime of opportunity, the sheriff believes, shortly after Potter’s supervising deputy had walked out the back door of the kitchen to take out the trash and noticed that open gate.
“So (the deputy) pushed a button for controls to close the truck gate,” said Sheriff Trochesset. “At that time, (Potter) jumped off the truck dock, ran, and exited the gate before it was closed.”
Sheriff Trochesset said Potter was working in the kitchen at the time and was qualified to under state jail commission standards, adding that all working inmates at the jail are supervised.
The sheriff said the deputy couldn’t chase Potter because he had to secure another inmate he was also supervising. That deputy then radioed for help.
“My understanding was one of the kitchen employees left out the gate, and now my question is ‘Why was the gate still left open?’” said the sheriff, who says he’s launching an investigation into what happened Monday to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Potter reportedly ran several blocks from the jail wearing a blue jumpsuit before stealing a company truck with keys from an A/C supply business that was closed at the time.
“From my understanding the keys were available,” said Sheriff Trochesset.
An employee at the business told KHOU a manager was not present to comment.
Early Tuesday morning, a deputy in Madisonville, north of Huntsville and more than 100 miles away from Galveston, spotted that stolen truck at Buc-ee’s. However, Potter, who was captured on the store’s surveillance cameras in street clothes inside that store, saw the deputy and quickly left out the back door.
After several agencies spent hours searching the area with K9s and on horseback, but called it off just after noon. It was a big effort to find a relatively low-level inmate the Sheriff believes was justified.
“He escaped from a facility,” said the sheriff. “You’re not sure what he is capable of, why he escaped, was there a reason that he did what he did?”
A spokesperson for Buc-ee’s says no one was hurt inside the Madisonville store.
Sheriff Trochesset says Potter is now also being charged with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle.
Officials with the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said Potter is 5-foot-11 and weighs about 170 pounds. He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a white striped shirt.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to contact the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office at 409-766-2322.
