SUTTON COUNTY, Texas — The identity of the man who escaped a Sutton County jail and led multiple police agencies on a highway chase has been confirmed by Texas Department of Safety.
28-year-old Justin Wade Hancock - who previously lived in Theodore, Alabama - was identified as the inmate wo escaped the Sutton County jail.
Sergeant Steve Blanco with Texas DPS said Hancock had been serving time for felony charges.
“He was in jail for some felony charges in Sutton County where he was a trustee, meaning that he was working when he was in the jail," Blanco said. "He was working, doing odds and ends around the jail as an inmate and had gained to trustee status there in the Sutton County jail.”
Texas DPS was unable to confirm how long Hancock's sentence was, what his motive behind the escape was or how he managed to escape from jail.
Hancock had been shot by a Pecos County deputy after he had tried to carjack someone at an Exxon gas station.
Blanco confirmed to NewsWest 9 that Hancock didn't die at the scene of the shooting, but instead at a hospital.
"He did escape on Sunday, I don't know what time... but he did escape on Sunday [March 10] and was pronounced deceased at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa at 11:33 p.m.," Blanco said.
Texas DPS was unable to fully confirm whether or not Hancock was armed or not.
Since it was an officer-involved shooting, Texas Rangers will continue their investigation.
“In this sense, it is an active ongoing investigation, so it's going to take some time and these types of situations the investigation is presented to a grand jury," Blanco said. "That grand jury will look at the validity of the officer involved shooting and pass a either an indictment or a no bill depending on whether they found the officer's actions valid or not.”