Police searched downtown Houston for a suspect who escaped courthouse custody on Thursday ordering a lockdown at the nearby University of Houston.

Houston Police said officers were searching for Nigel Thomas Sanders, a 35-year-old male wearing orange pants and a black shirt.

According to Phillip Bosquez, the Assistant Chief of Detentions Command for the Houston Police, the suspect was in custody for three burglaries and one unlawful possession of a weapon.

"He went to court today and it appears that on his way back from court, he was able to facilitate an escape. He accosted a woman during that escape once he got out on the street, and he jumped in her car and she wrecked that car within just a few feet. After the car was disabled during the accident, the subject got out of the car and ran down the street," said Bosquez.

Aerial video showed a police boat searching the Bayou while officers were deployed around the Harris County Criminal Justice Center.

(Production: Gerardo Gomez, Jose Pablo Diaz)