May 23, 2019 500 AM
ALPINE – An escapee had only moments of freedom before being captured across the street from where his brief flight started on Tuesday.
Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson said 40-year-old Pedro Olivas Rodriguez of Ojinaga, Mexico, who had been arrested on smuggling charges by Homeland Security Investigations officers, was being transported by U.S. Marshals in a Homeland Security van and broke loose as it was nearing the Brewster County Jail.
Dodson said the suspect was still in handcuffs and chains and hid behind a smoker in front of the American Legion Hall across the street from the jail before officers spotted him.
He said the escapee had not been in custody of the county jail yet before he broke loose.
Additional charges will be determined by Homeland Security.
