Search continues for prison escapee

HOUSTON Arcade Comeaux was being transported from Huntsville to Beaumont Monday when he pulled a gun from his wheelchair, forced the two guards with him to let him go, and escaped on foot.

Comeaux's mother told us she has one question she would like to ask her fugitive son and that is, How did he get a gun in prison? It's something a lot of people are asking.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Marshals released a new wanted poster of Comeaux and they increased the reward to $25,000 tax-free dollars.

The search is now concentrating more on intelligence gathering rather than on the street. The tip calls are extending from the Houston area to other states.

"Within a couple of minutes, a simple phone call can have deputy United States marshals and their local law enforcement partners checking on an address in Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, New Mexico," said Deputy U.S. Marshal Alfredo Perez.

We were told a call did come in from the state of Alabama, but so far it has not led to the missing Comeaux. If you have any information, you are asked to call the U.S. Marshals at 877-WANTED2.

MORE ABOUT COMEAUX

According to prison officials, Comeaux was serving a life sentence for indecency with a child, aggravated sexual assault and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Comeaux is described as a black male, standing 6 feet tall and weighing 200 pounds. A command center has been set up at Highway 146 and I-10, which is where Comeaux was last seen. Anyone who believes they see him should call police immediately. Do not try to apprehend him on your own.

"Beyond the crimes for which he was serving, certainly an escape is a desperate act," said Michelle Lyons with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "It should certainly be assumed that he is going to do whatever he can to avoid being taken back into custody."

According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Comeaux has been in and out of the Texas prison system for the last three decades. He was originally sent to prison in 1979 on three 10-year sentences for rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child and burglary of a building, all in Harris County. He was released on mandatory supervision in 1983. His supervision was revoked and he returned to prison in 1984 with a new charge of indecency with a child in Harris County, for which he received 20 years.

Comeaux was released on mandatory supervision in 1991 and returned later that same year. He was paroled on at the end of 1993 and, as a result of a parole violation, was sent back to prison in 1994. He was again paroled on in 1996, but returned to prison in 1998 with a life sentence for aggravated sexual assault in Brazoria County.

This isn't Comeaux's first time in trouble while in custody. Back in 1999, prison officials say he stabbed his wife during a visit. They say he pinned her against a wall and began to stab her with a handmade metal object. A prison visitor who tried to come to her aid was also stabbed. Both Comeaux's wife and the other visitor sustained injuries, but survived the attacks. For those two attacks, Comeaux received two additional life sentences.