Photo: Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Authorities in Texas are providing new details about how convicted sex offender Robert Yancy Jr. escaped from Brazoria County prison.
Yancy was serving a life sentence for aggravated sexual assault of a child.
According to KTRK, Yancy was able to walk out of the prison on December 17 with the help of his mother, Leonor Priestle. Officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice told the news station the Priestle went to visit her son and gave him a black sweater and beanie to put on.
Authorities believe that Priestle, who used to work for the Department of Criminal Justice, provided Yancy with a working ID that allowed him to walk out of the prison without raising any flags.
The pair then got into Priestle's white Nissan Versa and drove away.
Later that night, Priestle's vehicle was flagged by a license plate reader, and she was stopped in Victoria County, over 100 miles from the prison.
Yancy was not in the vehicle, but Priestle was taken into custody.
On Monday, bystanders recognized Yancy sitting in a park in Matagorda County, about 45 miles from the prison, and called the police. Officers took Yancy into custody without incident and returned him to jail.
He is facing additional charges related to this escape. In addition, Priestle was charged with permitting or facilitating escape, and her boyfriend, Russell Williams, was charged with criminal intent to escape.