Two minute dash equals felony escape charge
By BARRY HALVORSON news@leader-news.com

Two additional minutes of freedom could cost a local man time in prison after he failed in an escape attempt at the Wharton County Courthouse Thursday morning.

Ernest Armstrong Jr., 25, of 1217 Kingston Dr. in Wharton made his break for freedom at 9:34 a.m. and he was back in custody, still wearing the handcuffs he was being restrained with, at 9:36 a.m. He has been charged with escape while under arrest, a felony offense, and a probation violation on an original charge of possession of a controlled substance. Bail had not been set as of Friday morning.

Armstrong was arrested inside the courthouse when he was recognized by court bailiff Troy Albrecht. Albrecht removed Armstrong from the courtroom and turned him over to Deputy Calvin Pfeil Jr., who made the arrest, cuffed Armstrong and then turned him over to correctional officer Anthony Tyrone for transport to the jail.

"Pfeil was going up the stairs when he looked out the window and saw Tyrone trying to unlock the transport van," Sheriff's Department Lt. Daniel Marek said.

"He saw Armstrong take off across the street, running down the alley beside the district clerk's office. He then cut over toward the post office and was caught in the yard of a home on Resident Street trying to crawl under a bush. In most attempts like this, they are generally caught trying to hide in some bushes or under a house."

Armstrong was taken back into custody by Tyrone and Wharton Police Sgt. Jason Barker and then completed his trip to the jail.

"He never really had a chance to get away," Marek said. "He couldn't run very fast with the handcuffs and Tyrone keeps himself in pretty good shape and was after him right away. He and Sgt. Baker did a good job of chasing him down without incident."

Marek said Albrecht recognized Armstrong from a warrant for his arrest. The lieutenant said warrants had been issued for the defendant for failure to identify, bond forfeiture and possession of marijuana issued by Fort Bend County and warrants issued by the Wharton Municipal Court for failure to appear, failure to maintain financial responsibility (no insurance), no driver's license and failure to appear for arraignment.