CONROE – Montgomery County grand jury returned three indictments Thursday against the TDC inmate accused of smuggling a firearm onto a van that was to transfer him from one prison to another, then using it to take control of his guards and the vehicle as a means of escape.
Arcade Joseph Comeaux, Jr. 49, was true-billed on two counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of felony escape. All three charges carry a potential life sentence.
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Comeaux was already serving a life sentence in TDC for aggravated sexual assault and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and was believed to be wheelchair bound. But during a Dec. 1 transport from Huntsville’s Estelle Unit to the Stiles Unit in Beaumont, Comeaux allegedly pulled out a gun and took control of his guards and the van in Conroe, eventually fleeing on foot in Baytown. His story and photo were publicized nationwide and on Dec. 7, Comeaux was recaptured in Houston.
Montgomery County prosecutor Rob Freyer, who presented the case to the grand jury, said Comeaux will be tried before 359th District Court Judge Kathleen Hamilton, but would be returned to the custody of the Texas Department of Corrections until that time.
Freyer said prosecutors will seek the maximum sentence on all three charges.
