Gonzalo Lopez smuggled prison-made weapons onto a Texas Department of Criminal Justice bus May 12th.
State Senator John Whitmire says he's been told in briefings that around Centerville, he had some cooperation from other inmates. There were a total of 16 on the bus, all handcuffed and in shackles except for Lopez who was kept in a cage.
"When he started his escape attempt and he's located in a very confined cage because he's such a violent offender, the other inmates created a disturbance. They were singing and jumping and making enough noise to distract the correction officer which allowed Lopez to free himself. He had help from other inmates and that's being investigated." Whitmire says they could face further charges.
Lopez was a member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang. Whitmire says the other inmates may have helped due to peer pressure, rewards or threat of retaliation.
Lopez was on the run until June 2 when he killed a family of five near Centerville, stole their truck and was shot dead by police. The victims were a Tomball grandfather and four of his grandsons.
As a result, the TDCJ has suspended transportation of inmates while it investigates. Whitmire says the system failed. "First of all, you don't allow him on the bus without an effective pat down. He had weapons, prison-made weapons. A convicted capital murderer serving a life sentence has nothing to lose. I don't think he ought to be on a bus. I think he should be in a very tightly controlled van with three armed correction officers."
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