Handcuff key found on county prisoner
Trinity Standard , June 2007

GROVETON – A prisoner preparing for a court appearance in Groveton was found in possession of a handcuff key last week in the Trinity County Jail.

Sheriff Steven Jones said that Ronnie Ray Purvis, 32, of Corrigan was discovered on Thursday, June 14, with a handcuff key sewn into the lining of his jail-issue underwear.

 “He had been housed over in Newton County and we had him brought back to Groveton for a court appearance,” Jones explained.

“When he got here he was acting kind of strange so I had him taken upstairs to do a shakedown,” the sheriff said.

A shakedown is a thorough search of a prisoner and his clothing to make sure that there is no contraband present.

During the search, the sheriff found the key well hidden in the inmate’s clothing.

“Just looking at the underwear you would never know that anything had ever been done to it. It was a very professional looking sewing job,” he said.

Purvis has been in custody since Feb. 27 on Trinity County charges of felony possession of a controlled substance and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Jones said additional warrants for Purvis have been issued in Nacogdoches County.

Since his local arrest, Purvis has been housed at a detention facility in Newton County pending trial. Jones said that while in Newton County, he managed to escape custody for a brief time before being recaptured.