Home / Houston News / Man arrested for drug charges shot during attempted escape at UTMB in Galveston

Man arrested for drug charges shot during attempted escape at UTMB in Galveston

A Galveston County Jail inmate was shot Thursday after he allegedly attempted to escape custody once he was discharged from the University of Texas Medical Branch for ingesting a large quantity of narcotics.

Dennis Benson, 31,  was in court Thursday for a hearing on a drug and firearm charges while he was out on bond, according to a release from the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office. During his court appearance, an active warrant for a new drug charge was discovered and Benson was arrested and taken into custody, according to the release.

On the way to the Galveston County Jail, Benson alerted authorities he had ingested “a large quantity of narcotics” and was taken to the the UTMB hospital by the arresting deputy, according to the release.

By 5:30 p.m. Benson was ready to be discharged from the hospital. While being discharged, he allegedly attempted to escape custody by fleeing from the hospital and was shot in the leg, according to the release.

Texas Rangers and the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office were called to investigate the incident and are being assisted by the University of Texas Medical Branch Police Department, the release stated

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