'Somebody is not doing their job': Harris Co. Jail to boost security after 2 inmates nearly escaped

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Within a span of only 24 hours, two inmates nearly escaped from the Harris County Jail in separate incidents over the weekend. Both men have been charged for their attempts, and Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said his personnel could face repercussions if they find that someone was at fault.

The first incident happened on Saturday around 9:30 a.m. when an inmate, Frankie Rosas, 33, allegedly left the intake holding area of the Harris County Joint Processing Center on North San Jacinto St. Records show he was being processed for burglary of a habitation by the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

HCSO said Rosas went into a side room without authorization, climbed into the ceiling, and refused to comply with orders to come down. The sheriff's office said their SWAT team had to crawl into the ceiling and take Rosas into custody. One team member experienced a non-life-threatening injury while trying to subdue him.

SEE RELATED: Suspect detained after trying to escape at Harris County Joint Processing Center, HCSO says

Then on Sunday around 2 a.m., the sheriff's office said inmate Benjamin David Walls, 41, left the processing area and walked through the door of an authorized area of the facility. But he was quickly spotted by an employee who walked him back to the intake area.

According to a press release from the Harris County Pct. 4 Constable's Office, Walls was arrested for aggravated assault.

These incidents came after an inmate managed to walk out of the Harris County Jail back in June. Documents stated Nigel Sanders climbed through the ceiling of a tunnel after a court hearing. Surveillance video then showed Sanders walking out of the doors of the intake center before he allegedly carjacked a county employee.

A spokesperson for HCSO said the investigation into Sanders' jail escape is still ongoing and active.

READ MORE: ONLY ON 13: Video shows escaped inmate walking out door of Harris Co. jail intake center unnoticed

ABC13's Courtney Fischer asked Gonzalez on Wednesday morning if the attempted escapes over the weekend had anything to do with staffing issues at the county jail.

"Absolutely not. Nothing to do with staffing. Staffing did not play a part in any of that. Obviously, we want to learn from it and see what could have been done better," Gonzalez said. "Somebody is not doing their job."

Gonzalez was then asked if any jail employees could face repercussions or disciplinary action.

"There could be. We want to review everything. That will be part of our after-action review to see what exactly happened, what can be done better, and if we need to deploy more people in certain areas," he said. "We feel there's enough there. But we're always looking at everything for continuous improvement."

Both Rosas and Walls were charged with attempting to escape from a penal institution. Their bonds were individually set at $100,000.

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