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CORPUS CHRISTI - We have some new information about the inmate who escaped this weekend as he was being dropped off at the county jail.

Monday the municipal court was looking into whether a… Click to Read More and see additional updates

CORPUS CHRISTI - We have some new information about the inmate who escaped this weekend as he was being dropped off at the county jail.

Monday the municipal court was looking into whether a detention officer gave that inmate a key to unlock his handcuffs. Today, the Interm Director of Municipal Courts says that's not the case.

30-year-old Joe Hernandez had just been brought to the county jail's prisoner drop off area in Saturday when he escaped. Jay Reining, Interm Director of Municipal Courts, says Hernandez was with a group of other inmates being taken into the jail. The garage door began to open and he made a run for it.

"Normally when the people are being taken out. The door's not supposed to be raised until everyone is secured. In this case, they had one person out another person was in the process of getting out as the door started going up," said Reining.

Reining says no one will be reprimanded for what happened. But, they are going to use this as a learning lesson.

"We're concerned of the safety of our personnel. And also, you know, we don't wanna have anyone escaping," said Reining.

After viewing the Nueces County jail's security video, Reining says there are numerous issues that the city and county will have to correct.

"I think there were too... At this time there were too few people trying to do the transport trying to get people out of the van," said Reining

And that's just the one problem. Reining says they are also reviewing the communication between departments and even how they handcuff prisoners. But the main issue Reining says is the officers attitudes. He says they need to constantly be alert and ready.

"There's a lot of danger involved and they just can't... relying everything going smoothly every time," said Reining.

When asked what changes will be made he said,"there may be a change in the number of people we use when we transport people."

They will also be testing cuffing prisoners behind their back instead of the front.

CORPUS CHRISTI - We have some new information about an prisoner who escaped while being transferred to the Nueces County jail over the weekend. We've learned 30-year-old Joe Hernandez may have been slipped a handcuff key by a detention officer before he was able to get while being unloaded from a prisoner transport van.

Municipal court officials who are handling the investigation say they're looking the allegation, but it is still early in their investigation which could take a couple of days.

We're told Hernandez was only wearing one handcuff because he was chained to four other inmates at the time. Hernandez was able to get out of his handcuff and rolled underneath the garage door where Nueces County jail officials receive inmates.

Authorities searched for Hernandez for three hours before a K9 unit tracked him down as he hid underneath a law office.

In the meantime, the municipal court director is evaluating whether or not to do away with handcuffing several inmates together during transfers.

CORPUS CHRISTI - An escaped inmate is back behind bars tonight after a manhunt right outside the KRIS and KZTV News studios. Police say 30 year old Joe Hernandez got loose around 9 o'clock Saturday night.

30 year old Joe Hernandez managed to push his way past the guard and roll under that gate just as it slammed shut behind him. And then he ran this way, straight towards the neighborhood.

Hernandez bee-lined it for the houses here on Comanche and Lipan, and he quickly disappeared into the night. But officers didn't give up.

"Actually I was making dinner and all of a sudden I saw lights everywhere. The cops were surrounding this whole area. So naturally, I was a little nosy," said resident, Clifton Perry.

Next door, resident Michelle Hetzel said, "She said hey, somebody escaped! And I was like, what?!"

Perry and Hetzel live right behind the Channel 6 News Station and they couldn't help but come outside and watch.

"From what I could tell, is that they knew exactly where he was, but they couldn't pinpoint him. And it was obvious that they had a manhunt going," Perry said.

Officers and Indy the police dog, combed the entire area for a couple of hours, looking for Hernandez.

Police searched our parking lot, the surrounding houses as well as this bed and breakfast. And for a moment, things looked hopeless, when suddenly, Indy found the trail. Leading officers to the law offices of Michele Jones.

Officers say they must have walked by Hernandez several times while they were looking for him. For a couple of hours, he was crammed up under this lawyer's office, which is good, because he's going to need one.

Police took Hernandez into custody, making sure he was cuffed and secure this time. But residents in the area didn't seem to worried about an escaped inmate, running loose in their neighborhood.

Hetzel said, "I'm not scared. I know how to protect myself, I really do. He wouldn't be walking out, I'll put it that way."

"Go Shawshank," Perry added.

Hernandez will face charges of evading arrest. And, we checked into his criminal background, it appears Hernandez has been in trouble quite a few times before.

In 2005, he was charged with possession of marijuana, but the case was later dismissed.

In 2011 and in May of this year, court records show Hernandez was also charged with possession of marijuana. And in June, he was charged with two counts of criminal mischief. Those cases are still pending in the courts.

CORPUS CHRISTI - A police officer and his K9 were able to track down escaped prisoner 30-year-old Joe Hernadez before midnight.

Roughly three hours earlier Hernandez escaped while being moved into the Nueces County jail from the city's detention center.

After his escape, Hernandez was seen in the jail parking lot heading down Waco Street - which is right behind the KRIS/KZTV studios.

It was K9 Officer Jason Lavastida and his dog Indy that captured Hernandez tonight.

He was arrested earlier today during a traffic stop where the officer found there was a warrant for his arrest.

CORPUS CHRISTI -- A 30-year-old man escaped from police custody Saturday night from the Nueces County Jail.

The Corpus Christi Police transport van delivered prisoners from the Corpus Christi City Detention Center to the Nueces County Jail at about 9:10pm.

One of the prisoners, Joe Hernandez somehow managed to escape.

Hernandez wore a gray shirt and ran toward Waco Street.

Hernandez was previously arrested on a traffic stop for a warrant for his arrest, driving while license suspended and for possession of marijuana.

Hernandez is a 30-year-old Hispanic man, 5'8" tall, 180 pounds, black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information to locate Hernandez should not approach him but call 911 right away.

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