Escaped Death Row Inmate To Return To Houston

HOUSTON -- The death row inmate who brazenly walked out of a county jail last week will have constant guards and reduced privileges when he returns to Texas, authorities said Monday.

Charles Victor Thompson, who slipped out of a prison jumpsuit and handcuffs Thursday, broke out of a visiting room and flashed a fake ID before walking out of the Harris County Jail, was captured Sunday outside a liquor store in Shreveport, La.

He waived his rights to an extradition hearing and a lawyer at a hearing Monday in Caddo Parish, La., where he participated via videophone from the jail.

"The judge explained to him that he was entitled to a hearing for the state to prove that he was, in fact, the person they were looking for and, to that, he replied, 'I don't think that's in dispute. I'm not going to waste the taxpayer's money in Louisiana,'" said Cindy Chadwick, with the Caddo Parrish Sheriff's Office.

Thompson is expected back at the Harris County Jail as soon as Monday night. Officials would not say exactly when the death row inmate would return or discuss other security measures officials were taking during his transfer.

"Anytime he's out of his cell block, we will have a deputy with him at all times," said Lt. John Martin, spokesman for the Harris Country Sheriff's Department. "At no time will he be unattended outside his cell block."

Thompson faces escape charges in Harris County, which must be dealt with before he can be returned to death row in Livingston, about 75 miles northeast of Houston. But Martin said it was unlikely the state would bother trying Thompson on the escape charges because he already is condemned.

But once back on death row, Thompson faces reduced privileges.

He will be housed under tight security when he goes back to death row within a few weeks, said Michelle Lyons, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

"Most inmates with an escape under their belt are housed under our highest level of security," Lyons said.

Those security measures include a reduction of recreation time from one hour a day to one hour a week. Thompson also will be banned from access to such personal items as a radio or typewriter.

Thompson escaped Thursday, using a smuggled set of clothes and a fake identification badge to get past guards. His escape resulted from "multiple errors" by jail personnel, Harris County Sheriff's Lt. John Martin has said.

"He never should have got out," Martin said. "To have him back in custody again, this is where he belongs. He was convicted of capital murder. He was twice sentenced to death. There is no scenario under which he should be free roaming around on the street."

Thompson, 35, was convicted in 1999 for the shooting deaths a year earlier of his ex-girlfriend, Dennise Hayslip, 39, of Tomball, and her new boyfriend, Darren Keith Cain, 30, of nearby Spring. He was sentenced to death Oct. 28 and was being held in the county jail until he could be transferred to a prison in Livingston, about 75 miles to the northeast.

Acting on a phone tip received in Houston, authorities searching for Thompson found him intoxicated and talking on a pay phone outside the liquor store at about 8 p.m. Sunday.

"Officers approached him, asked him for his name. His response was, 'You know who I am.' They asked him for his name again and he said, 'Charles Victor Thompson,'" Martin said.

Authorities said he appeared to be heavily intoxicated, and witnesses said Thompson did not resist arrest.

"He wasn't acting crazy or scared. As he was being taken into the car, he was just grinning, looking around. He looked like he was intoxicated, deeply, because he was just taking in the moment," liquor store clerk Jebbran Siddiqi said.

Thompson had a bicycle, but it was unclear how he got to Shreveport, which is about 200 miles northeast of Houston, Martin said.

He has no known family in Shreveport.

On Thursday, Thompson was taken to a room in the jail for a meeting with his attorney. The visitor, however, was not Thompson's attorney of record, although investigators have determined the other person was an attorney, Martin said. His name has not been released because he is considered a witness.

After the attorney left, Thompson was alone in the room and he managed to remove his handcuffs and his bright orange prison jumpsuit and put on a dark blue shirt, khaki pants and white tennis shoes. Authorities believe those were the clothes Thompson wore during his sentencing and say he somehow smuggled them back to his cell.

Wearing his new outfit, Thompson left the prisoner's booth in the visiting room, waved a fake ID badge that wasn't scrutinized as he passed at least four jail employees at work stations. Thompson was eventually let into the jail's visitor's lobby and from there he walked out of the building and into the street.

"There's no way Chuck had the brain power for this," said John Donaghy, whose sister Thompson was convicted of killing. "He's not the sharpest pencil in the box."

Authorities think somebody helped him escape, Martin said.

"We do think that people helped him if for no other reason than we found his clothes back behind another jail facility," he said.

Steve Tiller with the U.S. Marshals Service said they followed many leads. Tips were received from around the country and that officers from many jurisdictions worked to get Thompson back.

Shreveport city Jail Supervisor Barry Newton said Thompson had been booked on a charge of fugitive from the U.S. Marshal's Office and as a fugitive from Harris County.

Houstonians told KPRC Local 2 that they are relieved Thompson was caught.

"I was very happy -- especially for the people that had to go into hiding. He was a threat to the family of the people he had killed or maybe some of the jurors, and I was very excited when he got captured," Houston resident John Lewis said.

Donaghy said he and his family felt a sense of relief when they learned of the capture. The family has spent the past few days hiding in hotels and staying with friends in other parts of the state.

"My family can now go back to a normal living. They have been totally disrupted," he said.