The moment a murder suspect slips out of his handcuffs and escapes from a Las Vegas police station

Alonso Perez, 25, who was re-arrested on Tuesday after five days on the lam, is accused of murdering 31-year-old Mohammed Robinson when an argument broke out at a McDonald's

A murder suspect has been recaptured after escaping a Las Vegas police station last week by twisting free of his handcuffs when he was left alone in an interrogation room. Alonso Perez, 25, had been arrested following the fatal shooting of 31-year-old Mohammed Robinson outside a McDonald’s, shortly before midnight on 27 August.

The shooting apparently happened after Robinson failed to hold the door open for a woman who was allegedly at the restaurant with Perez, leading to an argument. Perez was arrested by North Las Vegas police last Friday morning and questioned by detectives, but when an investigator left him alone in the interrogation room at around 12.45pm, he twisted his handcuffs until they snapped, climbed onto a chair and pulled himself up through a loose ceiling tile.

He then dropped down into a nearby corridor, still wearing ankle chains, with the cuffs dangling from one wrist. Police did not notice he was gone for approximately 40 minutes. After fleeing the police station, Perez reportedly stole a white pickup truck, which was recovered on Saturday. Police appealed to the public for help in finding the murder suspect, a 6ft 3in tall Hispanic man with a tattoo of the Nike Air Jordan symbol on his neck. He was finally re-arrested on Tuesday, five days after his escape, at an apartment close to where the truck had been abandoned.

Perez, who is 6ft 3in tall, has a tattoo of the Nike Air Jordan logo behind his ear (North Las Vegas PD) ((North Las Vegas PD))

The victim’s sister, Maggie Robinson, said last week that she was stunned by Perez’s escape. “I don’t understand it at all,” she said.

Las Vegas Police Chief Alexander Perez told reporters that an internal investigation was being conducted into the embarrassing incident. "The police are simply not perfect," he said. "However, we will learn from our mistakes so they are not repeated and that's the goal."