HOUSTON (AP) – The Texas prison system has temporarily stopped transporting prisoners while investigating how a convicted murderer escaped from a bus last month and then killed a man and his four grandchildren.
“The agency is conducting an internal review of serious incidents and also intends to hire an outside company to conduct an independent review to identify the factors that may have caused the escape of (Gonzalo) Lopez,” he said. said the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in a statement Monday. No timeline has been given on how long it would take to complete the internal review.
The agency said that if it has to transport an inmate for an emergency medical appointment or for release, it will have more security.
These additional security measures were in place when a van carrying an inmate from a hospital in an East Texas prison collided with another vehicle in the early hours of Tuesday on a highway north of Houston, according to the prison agency. Three guards were injured, but were expected to survive. The inmate was in stable condition.
Authorities are relocating about 2,000 inmates each day for various reasons, said Jason Clark, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. According to the agency’s Fiscal Year 2020 Statistical Report, the most recent report available, there were about 121,000 people in prisons, state prisons and other facilities managed by the Department of Criminal Justice.
“We are reviewing our processes and determining how to reduce the need to relocate inmates,” Clark said in an email.
Lopez, who had been killed on behalf of Mexican drug cartels, escaped from a prison bus on May 12 after being released from his restrictions and from a caged area of the vehicle. Lopez stabbed and injured the bus driver before fleeing to a wooded area near Centerville, between Dallas and Houston.
Authorities believe that on Thursday Lopez killed Mark Collins, 66, and his four grandchildren, Waylon Collins, 18; Carson Collins, 16; Hudson Collins, 11; and 11-year-old Bryson Collins. Waylon, Carson and Hudson were brothers and Bryson was his cousin. Investigators say Lopez stole an AR-15-style rifle and a gun from the family’s ranch near Centerville, as well as a truck that drove about 220 miles (350 kilometers) to Atascosa County, south of Atervosa. San Antonio, where officers shot him dead. late thursday.
Texas Sen. John Whitmire, who had called for a temporary halt to prisoner transportation, praised the prison’s change in policy.
“While the investigation continues into what exactly happened with the recent escape and tragic murder of 5 members of the Collins family, we must act quickly to ensure that no other Texan is in danger of losing his life or being damaged by a runaway inmate who is being transported. Texas roads, “Whitmire, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, said in a written statement.
The committee will likely have a hearing this summer to review what happened and prison system policies related to the transportation of inmates, said Whitmire spokeswoman Lara Wendler.
The state senator has suggested that the Department of Criminal Justice should keep violent offenders in prison units closer to medical facilities or that medical teams visit the units.
Whitmire also called for additional security during the transportation of the prisoners, including having another vehicle with armed officers following them closely.
Funeral services for Mark Collins and his grandchildren, who were from the Tomball suburb of Houston, were scheduled for Saturday.
During a service Sunday at the family church in Houston, Glen Collins, Mark Collins’ brother, said his faith was helping him through this difficult time.
“This is where I find solace and consolation. … There’s a purpose in that, no doubt. … I lost my best friend. He kept me sharp. But there’s a purpose,” Glen Collins said.
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