SAN ANTONIO – Two months before three men facing unrelated capital murder charges escaped from the Bexar County Jail, state inspectors said the jail learned of an escape plan but did not search for contraband until after the trio scaled an outer jail wall using bedsheets and fled.
The KSAT 12 Defenders obtained the special inspection report dated March 29 -- weeks after the March 2 escape of Jacob Brownson, Eric Trevino and Luis Arroyo.
The Bexar County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday received the report which listed two deficiencies: the exercise area where the inmates were being held prior to their escape and irregular searches for contraband by jail officials.
"After observing the size of the exercise area and confirming the square footage of 291 sq. ft., it was determined that more inmates are being afforded the opportunity to attend recreation than space allows. No more than one inmate can be placed in the exercise area of this size at one time," the inspection report said.
BCSO said Wednesday evening, "All inmate units have been re-assessed and individual placards have been created for them detailing the specific rules for that unit regarding inmate standards. The placards will specifically show the number of inmates to be allowed in the exercise area."
The report also noted "regular and irregular searches for contraband were not conducted between April and August of 2017 in Unit CC, the housing location that the three inmates would eventually escape from."
"The contraband searches conducted in August were a direct result of evidence located outside the facility which lead officials to believe inmates were throwing handmade lines to the ground in order to obtain items or objects from outside the facility," the report said.
The metal mesh surrounding the exercise area had also been cut, "leaving a hole through which the inmates were able to throw their handmade lines to the ground" and that unspecified "non-jail issued items" were also found.
"The contraband search conducted in January 2018 occurred as a direct result of obtaining information regarding an escape plan. The next contraband search occurred in March 2018, after the escape occurred," the report said.
"Policies, practices, and personnel have been developed accordingly to insure 100% compliance on contraband searches throughout the (Adult Detention Center). We have been assured by the Honorable Judge Wolff that we would have the resources needed to sustain the necessary changes," BCSO said.
Within one week of the escape, BCSO made some security changes. They included putting up barricades to restrict access to the area around the jail, adding more deputies, additional physical inspections of the jail, as well as additional road closures.
"Since the escape, we had undertaken an exhaustive top to bottom inspection of our facility, as well as implementing new security protocols. We look forward to presenting our findings to TCJS as soon as possible, and working with them to regain our compliance status without delay," Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a statement released Wednesday evening.
Brownson, Trevino and Arroyo were captured in just over an hour after they escaped the jail, law enforcement officials said.