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Investigation into courthouse escape continues

Posted at 4:10 PM, Dec 18, 2014
and last updated 2015-12-13 16:10:54-05

The investigation continues into how a man escaped custody from Buffalo City Court.

Tuesday afternoon, Thomas Walsh, 29, of Buffalo escaped following his arraignment while awaiting transport by the Erie County Sheriff's Office.

Although Walsh was handcuffed from the waist down, he was able to walk out of the Buffalo City Court sally port, and out onto the streets of Buffalo.

Walsh was wanted for several charges, including petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, and has prior violent crimes in his past, including a 2008 arrest for allegedly shaking his 3-month-old baby, causing serious injuries.

7 Eyewitness News did some digging and uncovered court documents where police say he has "resisted arrest" before.

Most recently, a criminal complaint from an altercation Monday says, "while police were placing the defendant into custody, the defendant did flee from and did fight with an officer."

The Professional Standards Division of sheriff’s office is interviewing deputies and court staff. They are reviewing security footage from surrounding cameras.

The investigation is now focusing on the Buffalo City Court and one possibility is that current and recent construction at the court may have been a factor in the escape.

Walsh turned himself in to Orchard Park Police on Wednesday and was additionally charged with a felony for escaping.