October 20th 2023.
Michael Devon Combs had been facing charges for assaulting his girlfriend when he took advantage of a chaotic situation in Houston's criminal courthouse to escape. On October 17th, Combs was in the holding area on the 19th floor, wearing leg shackles, when a panic alarm sounded. Court officers had gone to respond to the incident, leaving Combs alone in the courtroom.
This was his chance to escape. Combs removed the shackles and fled the courthouse, prompting the Harris County Sheriff's Office to post an update on their Facebook page. The 32-year-old had been attending a hearing for his case, which had been postponed until March 2022 due to the pandemic.
The incident had occurred in another courtroom, where Frank DeLeon Jr. was on trial for killing 16-year-old Diamond Alvarez. During an emotional victim impact statement, Alvarez's mother claimed DeLeon was "laughing in her face," prompting her family members to lunge at him.
The deputies didn't realize Combs had escaped until 15 minutes after they returned to the courtroom. Thankfully, he was apprehended almost two days later after authorities asked the public for help. Combs' attorney, Mark Lipkin, told the New York Post that if he had the chance to give his client advice, he would have told him not to try and escape.
Combs' successful escape prompted a manhunt for four other prisoners who had made a break from a detention center in Georgia. The Harris County Sheriff's Office updated their page as soon as Combs was caught, and his case will resume in March 2022.
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