SNYDER, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – An inmate who escaped custody in Mitchell County was able to steal a Sheriff’s Office vehicle by crawling into the front seat, where a deputy had left keys in the ignition. 

The deputy left Christopher Charles Minor, 29, in the backseat of the vehicle while he went inside the hospital to get Minor a wheelchair. 

Sheriff Patrick Toombs says Minor somehow used his hands to pry open a small window separating the back of the vehicle from the front, then crawled through and began to drive. 

Minor fled north then went into Snyder, where he abandoned the vehicle near Avenue A and 31st Street. He was apprehended after a brief foot manhunt.

During the time Minor was at large, police warned Snyder residents to stay indoors and report any intruders to 9-1-1.

Snyder ISD schools were also placed on a hard lock down because Minor was considered armed and dangerous due to numerous weapons and body armor located in the Sheriff’s Office vehicle. 

Law enforcement transported Minor back to the Mitchell County Jail, where he has accrued new charges of Escape, Criminal Mischief, Burglary of a Habitation, and a misdemeanor striking charge. 

The Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office will decide if the deputy who left Minor in the vehicle will face any repercussions.

Minor was shot by a DPS trooper last month after leading law enforcement on a high speed chase from Sweetwater to Colorado City while in a stolen vehicle.

He was taken to the hospital following the shooting and was receiving followup wound care treatment when he made his escape.