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A safety pin helps inmate escape

Reported by: Janet Kwak
Email: JanetKwak@woaitv.com
Last Update: 11/20/2009 8:29 pm
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SAN ANTONIO -- An armed robbery suspect walks out of jail unnoticed Wednesday. And he did it with the help of a safety pin.
        "He had a safety pin on his clothing, so he took [it] and because [his shackles] weren't double locked, he was able to unlock one, and he put it in his boot," describes Sheriff Amadeo Ortiz.
        Bexar County authorities say 34-year old Francisco Tristan had been in the jail before to know the process. Officials say there is a small area inside the jail where jail employees, released criminals, and to-be inmates comingle. While Tristan was being booked for a robbery charge, he was able to slip away and leave with a group of people in civilian clothing.
        Past policies did not require potential inmates to be changed into uniform until they were ready to be incarcerated. But that’s changing. “By the time they come in here, they’ll be in uniform, and ready to go downstairs, so we won’t have that problem anymore,” says Sheriff Ortiz.       
        Identification badges will also be made bigger, and color coded to determine what jail access everyone has. The county is also looking to create a separate booking area in a different building to prevent an accident like this from happening again.        
        Tristan is currently held behind bars on four different charges with a bond set at $140,000.
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