The League City Police Department is looking into how an inmate escaped from custody at UTMB Victory Lakes early Sunday morning.
League City Jail took Desmond Taylor, 37, into custody on FridaThe detention stemmed from a family assault charge and his prior convictions.s.
A medical complaint reportedly led to Taylor’s hospitalization for an assessment.
Taylor fled from the hospital at 1 a.m. Sunday, according to authorities. He had been under an officer’s 24/7 watch.
Authorities suspect Taylor escaped when the officer supervising him was using the restroom, a department public relations officer told ABC13 late Sunday.
ABC13 enquired about Taylor’s handcuffs at the time and the agency’s policy regarding the use of restraints on hospitalized detainees. The public information officer stated that the department was looking into the incident. He stated that it is the usual procedure to shackle convicts, but there are medical exemptions.
Investigators believed Taylor was only wearing underwear and socks when he escaped after finding his gown outside the hospital, according to a department press release.
The public information officer stated that they most likely stole the gloves and blue coveralls he was wearing from the Jardina Center. Police believe Taylor spent the majority of his time on the run, hunkered down at the heavy equipment and landscaping materials store, which is less than a mile from the hospital.
Darrell Dominy, the Jardina Center Truck Driver, informed ABC13 that he arrived at the center at 9 a.m. He discovered tampering on two of his trucks on Sunday. He showed ABC13 a sock that he found in one of the trucks. Someone had opened the vehicle’s storage compartment, removing Dominy’s blue coveralls and gloves. He recognized the clothes as the ones Dominy was photographed wearing during his detention.
Taylor and Dominy would have been the only two individuals present at the Jardina Center on Sunday due to its closure. Taylor claimed he didn’t witness Dominy’s capture while racing across the feeder road where the shop is located.
That’s strange, Dominy said.
Taylor is currently facing an escape charge at the Galveston County Jail after his arrest.