A 27-year-old inmate who escaped from Beaumont's Stiles prison unit will face a county judge on Wednesday morning in Omaha, Nebraska.
David Puckett, who was captured Monday night in Omaha after he escaped from the Beaumont prison on March 9, will find out if he will be extradited to Texas where he will face new felony charges, according to investigators.
Mattice Mayo, 25, of Omaha, Nebraska, will also make an appearance in the Omaha courtroom. Right now, she is wanted in Harris County, Texas for a felony charge of hindering apprehension, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The affidavit, which 12 News HD obtained from the Harris County District Attorney's Office, says that Mayo assisted in the escape of Puckett.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark told 12 News HD that Puckett was in a recreation cage at the Stiles prison unit in Beaumont, when he cut a hole in the cage, scaled a barbed-wire fence, which was surrounding the prison, hot-wired a truck and fled to Houston.
The probable cause affidavit states that Mayo used Western Union to wire $340 to Puckett, so that he could purchase two Greyhound bus tickets.
On March 10, Mayo wired $340 to a "Brian Chris," according to the affidavit.
Puckett posed as "Brian Chris." He even gave the cashier a Wisconsin address and phone number. He was able to get the money because Western Union does not require identification. He only had to answer a security question, according to the affidavit.
The security question, which was created by Mayo, asked Puckett, "how many children do I have?" Puckett answered four, according to the affidavit.
Investigators reviewed the surveillance video from the Houston Greyhound bus station and were able to identify Puckett.
At around 2 p.m., on March 10, Puckett spent $170.00 on a bus ticket from Houston to Dallas. He arrived in Dallas at 6:30 p.m. Investigators say he purchased a second $170.00 ticket from Dallas to Omaha, Nebraska where he met up with Mayo. Authorities say he had been staying with Mayo since March 10.
This wasn't the first time that Mayo had contact with Puckett.
Daniel Jones, who is Puckett's cellmate at the Stiles Unit, told investigators that Puckett had smuggled a phone into the prison, and Mayo was suppose to pick up Puckett after he escaped.
Investigators also searched cellphone records and found out that Puckett was in constant contact with Mayo. Cellphone records state that in 2010, between the months of September and November, Puckett called Mayo 297 times, according to the affidavit.
Mayo's mother, Tricia Moore told Omaha's ABC-affiliate KETV that her daughter had connected with Puckett on the mobile networking site, MocoSpace.
Moore added that her daughter had no idea that Puckett was an inmate. Moore says her daughter exchanged letters with Puckett, but his return address had a P.O. box, so she had no clue that he was serving a 30-year sentence, out of Lava County, after he slit a police officer's throat.
"I don't think she knew he was incarcerated," said Mayo's mother, Tricia Moore in an interview with KETV."She would never put her kids in danger like that."
Moore is now forced to take care of her daughter's five children, who are all under the age of 6.
"I'm hoping and praying that they don't send my daughter to Texas," she added. "She didn't have no idea what this man was capable of."
12 News HD has also learned that investigators seized Mayo's cellphone and also found keys in her apartment to the stolen truck that investigators say Puckett used to travel from Beaumont to Houston.
US Marshals say Puckett is a convicted sex offender in Wisconsin.
TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark says the state has launched an extensive investigation into how Puckett managed to escape.
Considered by federal agents as one of America's most wanted fugitives, Puckett's March 14 arrest came after Texas' investigators tipped off the Metro Fugitive Task Force in Omaha.
Here is a press release from the Metro Fugitive Task Force:
Investigators in Texas forwarded the name of Mattice Mayo, a female living at an apartment in Omaha, to MFTF members in Omaha to assist in locating PUCKETT. MFTF members went to an apartment complex at 4760 Lafayette in Omaha and conducted surveillance for several hours. MFTF members observed a male fitting the description of PUCKETT go in and out of the apartment complex.
At approximately 8:30 p.m., MFTF members observed a female fitting the description of Mayo exiting a van and escorting four young children into a second story apartment. MFTF members approached the complex and witnessed PUCKETT immediately. PUCKETT then retreated back into the second story apartment where Mayo had been observed to be going with the four children. MFTF members gave chase and entered the apartment to ensure that PUCKETT did not create a potential hostage situation with the children inside. Upon entry MFTF members observed PUCKETT attempting to crawl out of the second story bedroom window. PUCKETT then saw the other MFTF members on the ground outside and crawled back into the apartment. After a short struggle, PUCKETT was taken into custody.
PUCKETT had already served 8 years of a 30-year prison sentence for slashing a police officer's throat when he escaped from his cell and snuck out through a prison recreation yard around 6 p.m. on March 9, 2011.
After his escape, PUCKETT then stumbled upon a work truck, with the keys in the ignition, not far from the prison. PUCKETT then drove to Houston and attempted to seek medical treatment (Texas Children's Hospital) to receive treatment for cuts sustained while going through razor wire during his escape. PUCKETT then took a bus to Omaha where he is believed to have been staying since late Friday.
PUCKETT was listed on America's Most Wanted shortly after the escape. PUCKETT is also a convicted sex offender in the state of Wisconsin stemming from a sex offense involving a 12-year-old girl.
According to Mark Martinez, U. S. Marshal for the District of Nebraska, "This is a significant arrest of a very dangerous and violent fugitive. Another example of a fugitive who ran but could not hide". I commend the Metro Fugitive Task Force for the professional manner in which it handles a potentially volatile situation.
The Metro Fugitive Task Force arrested over 1200 state, local, and federal fugitives in 2010. The Metro Fugitive Task Force is comprised of the following agencies: U. S. Marshals Service, Omaha Police, Lincoln Police, Council Bluffs Police, Nebraska State Patrol, Bellevue Police, Sarpy County Sheriff's, Lancaster County Sheriff's, Douglas County Sheriff's, Iowa State Probation, LaVista Police, and Papillion Police.
