Man who escaped custody arrested at Katy hotel where girlfriend was staying, HCSO says

KATY, Texas (KTRK) — A man accused of slipping out of his handcuffs and escaping while he was being taken into custody has been found and arrested, Harris County Sheriff’s Office said.

was the only news crew present when the Harris County Violent Persons Warrant Task Force arrested Braden Findley at a hotel in Katy around 11 a.m. Wednesday. You can see the footage of him in the back of a patrol vehicle in the video player above.

He’s charged with felony escape, terroristic threat, and violating a protective order, HCSO said.

Deputies were called at about 2:30 p.m. Monday to Findley’s girlfriend’s home on Wigmaker Drive in Katy.

Later, deputies took 20-year-old Findley into custody for violating a protective order and making a terroristic threat.

The sheriff’s office said a deputy took him to a substation off of Clay Road when he got away and ran off into a wooded area around 6:30 p.m. Monday.

The deputy opened the back door to bring him inside and saw Findley remove his handcuffs as he was running off. The deputy followed him into the woods about 100 feet before he lost him and turned around to call for back up.

Findley had been wanted ever since.

“He manipulated the handcuffs during transport somehow. Once a deputy was attempting to transfer him inside jail, he was able to escape the deputy’s custody. That’s what we know at this time,” Major E.B. Dean with the sheriff’s office said Tuesday.

Deputies initially closed down roads and used helicopters, K-9s, and infrared cameras to try to track down the suspect.

The suspect does have a criminal history as he’s facing charges from May that have to do with domestic violence.

Officials said the hotel where he was arrested is the hotel where his girlfriend, the woman with the protective order, was staying.

spoke to Findley’s girlfriend, who did not want us using her name, but said he used a friend’s phone to contact her. She said she tried to make it impossible to contact her because she has feelings for him, and knew if she had contact, she would want to help. She gave him the address of the hotel, which he was later arrested at.