Galveston County suspect found after escaping custody; fiancée says arrest is unjust
What we know
GALVESTON COUNTY - On Saturday, the Galveston County Sheriff's Office was searching for a suspect they said escaped from custody while being transported to jail.
Officials were searching for 36-year-old Sylvester Thompson. Law enforcement said Thompson was under arrest for evading arrest on foot and was handcuffed at the time of his escape.
Their search was concentrated in the area of I-45 and FM-519.
Galveston County officials said Thompson is now facing several charges, including assault of a peace officer, escape from custody, and taking or attempting to take a weapon from a peace officer. Each charge has a bond amount set at $250,000.
The GCSO said Thompson was placed back in custody when he was arrested while handcuffed as a passenger in a vehicle on 33rd Street and Avenue J in Santa Fe, Texas. Multiple law enforcement agencies, including Galveston County Precinct 1, the League City Police Department K9 Unit, the Texas City Police Department, the Galveston County Organized Crime Task Force, the Criminal Reduction Unit, and the Fugitive Apprehension Division were utilized to find the suspect.
RELATED: Escaped Galveston County fugitive found in Santa Fe, Texas
What they're saying
Thompson's fiancée, Heather Ross, claims he was wrongly arrested.
Ross said she and Thompson never broke any laws. She said they had a flat tire on the side of the road and were arguing when he walked off from her. Ross states that an officer pulled up behind him and he ran away.
"Another two cop cars come behind, and I'm like, 'What's going on?' So I move the car into the parking lot, and she's like, 'You guys were stranded motorists, and you were impeding traffic, which is a misdemeanor, but why is he running?' I said, 'He wasn't running from you guys. He was walking, trotting, running away from me because we're arguing about this flat tire,'" said Ross.
Moments later, authorities tried to arrest Thompson, but he escaped.
"They caught up to him. They beat him up. Then they put him in handcuffs, and that's when he managed to get his handcuffs in front of him and take off running because he was scared because they had already beat the hell out of him," said Ross.
Ross said Thompson ran because he has been in trouble with the law before and feared being shot by police. She said he was arrested without good cause.
"It's not fair. He wasn't doing anything wrong. And they plastered his name all over Facebook," said Ross.
What's next
Thompson's fiancé said they are getting a lawyer and taking legal action against the sheriff's office. FOX 26 Houston reached out to the Galveston County Sheriff's Office for comment.
The Source
Information in this article was provided by the Galveston County Sheriff's Office and the fiancée of the fugitive.
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