Prisoners Used Bikini Photos To Aid Escape

Pictures Covered Hole In Wall Convicts Use To Break Out - Escapees Leave Thank You Note

(CBS/AP)  Two jail inmates used photos of bikini-clad women to hide holes they used to escape and left behind a thank you note, signed with a smiley face, for a guard they claimed helped them, officials said Monday.

Jose Espinosa, 20, and Otis Blunt, 32, squeezed through the openings sometime before dawn Saturday in a high-security unit of the Union County jail, jumped onto a rooftop below, and made it over a 25-foot-high fence topped with razor wire, authorities said.

Authorities withheld the name of the officer the inmates said was involved. The note, found in Espinosa's cell, read, "Thank you Officer ... for the tools needed. You're a real pal. Happy holidays."

Authorities are investigating the claims. The guard named in the note has not yet turned in a report, and disciplinary action has not been taken against any guard, said county prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow said, whose office is overseeing the escape investigation.

Police were still searching Monday for the two men. Espinosa was awaiting sentencing for manslaughter in a drive-by shooting, and Blunt is facing robbery and other charges in the shooting of a convenience store manager.

Meanwhile, authorities are reviewing security measures. They barred inmates from pinning up pictures from magazines on their cell walls.

The jailbreak is reminiscent of one in the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" in which the main character, an inmate, uses posters of women, including of a bikini-clad Raquel Welch, to conceal an escape tunnel he had been digging.

Espinosa and Blunt used at least two improvised tools - a thick metal wire like those used to bind chain link fences to poles, and a 10-pound steel water shut-off wheel - to remove cinderblocks from the wall, Romankow said.

The thick wire was used to scrape away mortar around a cinderblock in the wall between their cells, and then around a cinderblock in an exterior wall in Espinosa's cell that faced busy rail tracks, Romankow said.

The shut-off wheel was used to crush the cinderblocks so they could be hidden in the cells, Romankow said. They also laid out pillows and sheets to make it look like men were sleeping under blankets, authorities said.

Once they landed on the railroad easement outside the fence, they ran in opposite directions, Romankow said. No blood was found.

The escape preparations appear to have been done relatively quickly. Each man was in his cell for only a few weeks, Romankow said. Investigators were trying to determine when the cells were last searched. It was the first escape since the jail opened in 1986.

[waugus1]

So here''s another reason our (bleep) governor should never have banned the death penalty...our jails can''t even contain the criminals!

[iceman_1960]

A whole lot of movies feature escapes from prison.

George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez made one about a decade ago: "Out of Sight." (That was certainly no "Shawshank Redemption.")

[iceman_1960]

I don"t think a movie like "The Shawshank Redemption" would be allowed to be shown in prison. (The convicts could see it before or after incarceration.)

I know that a prison guard was disciplined not long ago for allowing "Brokeback Mountain" to be shown to prison inmates.

But I can"t imagine why they wouldn"t want that film there...

[iceman_1960]

"Which one is Espinosa?"
- Posted by modemmack at 06:30 PM : Dec 18, 2007

The Hispanic "gentleman."

[ivandrago]

Which one is Espinosa?

[ivandrago]

I bet that thank you note to the guard was a final smack in the face to the guards. Lots of guards are crooked, but not stupid. Now every single guard will get "metaphorically" probed to check the validity of the claim. You can bet they''ll find something.

[iceman_1960]

"Well, I dont" care whatcha say. Those two dudes aren"t Clint Eastwood."
- Posted by pitbullpoint at 03:43 PM : Dec 18, 2007

Clint Eastwood would be scared of these guys in real life. He"d be doing their laundry in prison.

Just look at that one on the right in the picture, that Jose Espinosa. You can just hear him telling Eastwood, "Go ahead...Make my day..."

[whoever1234]

"Well, I dont'' care whatcha say. Those two dudes aren''t Clint Eastwood."

Ain''t that the truth!

[iceman_1960]

"Does anyone know what they were in for?"
- Posted by hungry1968 at 02:53 PM : Dec 18, 2007


"Police were still searching Monday for the two men. Espinosa was awaiting sentencing for manslaughter in a drive-by shooting, and Blunt is facing robbery and other charges in the shooting of a convenience store manager."

[johnny343sc]

Didn''t they see Shawshank Redemption...?

I''d figure that would be on any prison guard''s ''to-see'' list.

I guess it -now- is.

;)

[whoever1234]

"No. Clint Eastwood used paper mache''''. Big difference between a pinup and a paper mache'''' air vent. Kinda like Pleistocene and mud."

Both used contrived tools to create an escape hole through the wall (one around an air vent, one by loosening cinder blocks). They had various means of concealing the holes (paper mache and accordion case vs. pinup pictures). Here: "They also laid out pillows and sheets to make it look like men were sleeping under blankets, authorities said." - very similar thing in Escape From Alcatraz (although a bit more elaborate there with the fake heads/hair with the laughingly smiling face).

[hungry1968]

There are staff that violate the in mates. If a man is strong why he can turn the water off and I am not talking the little one outdoors...

Posted by MichelleM99 at 03:05 PM : Dec 18, 2007



I don''t know what you mean by violating the inmates, sounds like you''ve got a weird fantasy thing going on there.

The metal parts that can be removed, like a water wheel, or a window crank, are usually kept locked up. When a window needs to be opened, it''s usually assigned to someone or the guard will open it themselves. As evidenced by this story, the inmates can use something like a piece to a chain like fence, and turn it into a grout removal tool or a weapon. Metal objects are usually carefully controlled. Definitely makes you wonder about the guards involvement...

[michellem99-2009]

There are staff that violate the in mates. If a man is strong why he can turn the water off and I am not talking the little one outdoors...

[hungry1968]

That note was probably intended to get an officer they didn"t like, in trouble.

In prison parlance, that is called "dropping a kite" on somebody. (I know that from books, not real life experiences.)

Posted by Iceman_1960 at 01:25 PM : Dec 18, 2007



I don''t know Ice - you could be right. But how did they get a 10 pound water shut off wheel? Picture how big that must be when you consider a water spigot on the outside of your house. That weighs what - a couple of ounces if that? The wheel had to be at least as big as a pipe wrench.


Does anyone know what they were in for?

robertkjjj

congratulations. you were the first to play the race card. Your prize is the coveted golden ***hole award.

[smiley676]

Union county? the journalist failed to even say what state this happened in. There is a Union county Iowa, South Carolina, etc. DAH!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by tukoool1

It clearly says Elizabeth, NJ

[jerr11]

Can''t wait to see the movie.

Starring Denzel Washington and George Lopez.

[iceman_1960]

Tied as the best movies of all time, I meant.

[iceman_1960]

"The Shawshank Redemption" is (as of the date and time of this post) tied with that great masterpiece "The Godfather," among user-rated movies at IMDB.com.

Both have impressive 9.1 ratings (out of 10).

If you subscribe to Netflix, you can"t go wrong if you ignore the Netflix star ratings, and rely on IMDB.com user ratings of 7.0 or better.

"For this top 250, only votes from regular voters are considered." (They don"t want constipated voters taking it out on the films, I guess...)

http://imdb.com/chart/top?tt0111161

[tukoool1]

Union county? the journalist failed to even say what state this happened in. There is a Union county Iowa, South Carolina, etc. DAH!