A Texas inmate armed with a knife escaped Thursday following an appearance at a Houston court after holding an employee of the district attorney\u2019s against her will and trying to take her car, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joshua Nigel Thomas Sanders, 35, was being sought by law enforcement Thursday evening after the escape that occurred at around 3:30 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe went to court today, and it appears on his way back from court he was able to facilitate an escape,\u201d Harris County Sheriff\u2019s Assistant Chief Phillip Bosquez said at a news conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe accosted a woman during that escape, once he got out on the street, and he jumped in her car. She wrecked that car within just a few feet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanders got out of the disabled car and ran down the street, and that was the last time he is known to have been seen on camera, Bosquez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman held at knifepoint was later released unharmed, the Harris County District Attorney\u2019s Office said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe was of course shaken up, but she was not injured,\u201d Bosquez said. The woman was leaving work at the building when the incident occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanders, described as a transient, was in custody on three counts of burglary and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, Bosquez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe truly believe we\u2019ll run him to the ground,\u201d he said. The sheriff\u2019s office asked for any assistance from the public in searching for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Investigators believe Sanders had a knife during the escape, but Bosquez did not specify where it may have came from. \u201cAnywhere once he got outside the jail,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An investigation into how the escape occurred is underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyone seeing Sanders is not to contact him, but to call 911 or Crime Stoppers. He is described as around 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 140 pounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n