Texas murder suspect gets 99 years for one-hour jail escape

Bexar County Adult Detention Center was the site of an escape in March 2018, authorities say. (Bexar County Sheriff's Office)

A murder suspect was sentenced Friday to 99 years in prison for his brief escape from a Texas jail last year.

Although escaping from a correctional facility in Texas is typically a third-degree felony, the charge was upgraded for Luis Arroyo due to his lengthy criminal history, the Bexar County District Attorney's Office said.

5 INMATES ESCAPE N. CAROLINA JAIL, 4 TAKEN INTO CUSTODY

Arroyo, 41, along with two other detainees, escaped from the Bexar County Jail in San Antonio on March 2, 2018, by climbing 20 feet up the jail’s recreation area, cutting a hole in mesh wiring and climbing down onto a roof using bedsheets, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

The trio had help from Arroyo’s mother, who was an ex-girlfriend of one of the detainees, authorities said. They were found an hour later at a Sonic fast food restaurant.

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The two other detainees are also being held on murder charges and have not been tried for the escape. Months after his escape, Arroyo was tried for his murder charge, which ended in a mistrial.

Prosecutors plan to retry him again, a district attorney spokesperson told the paper.