N.M. Prison Break May Have Been Inside Job
5 Of 8 Escapees Still On Loose; DA Says Possible Inside Help Being Probed
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Edward Salas, 23, sentenced to life in prison for murder, and Larry McClendon, 19, charged with murder and aggravated robbery. The two are among several inmates who escaped from the Curry County jail Sunday night, Aug. 23, 2008, in Clovis, N.M. (AP/Curry County Sheriffs Dept.)
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Louis Chavez, 18, in prison for aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, receiving stolen property and extreme cruelty to animals, and Michael England, 29, convicted of tampering with evidence and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The two are among several inmates who escaped from the Curry County jail Sunday night, Aug. 23, 2008, in Clovis, N.M. (AP/Curry County Sheriffs Dept.)
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Victor Sotelo, 36, in prison for aggravated assault, and Javier Zapata, 19, convicted of aggravated assault, shooting at a motor vehicle and child abuse. Zapata was captured late Monday evening in Texas, but Sotelo is still at large. (AP/Curry County Sheriffs Dept.)
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Eight inmates escaped Sunday from the Curry County jail, but one was quickly captured and two others were caught in nearby Texas. District Attorney Matt Chandler said investigators believe some of the remaining escapees could be in west Texas.
"We're still receiving tips that some of the other fugitives, at least one or two of the other fugitives, could be in" the Lubbock area, he said.
Chandler told The Associated Press in a phone interview that New Mexico State Police began looking closely Tuesday at whether anyone inside the jail helped the men escape.
They are "working that angle very hard, and that's going to be a very high-priority focus," he said. Chandler did not say what led investigators to suspect that the inmates might have had inside help.
The eight men were discovered missing late Sunday when Clovis police officers noticed two people in orange jumpsuits running near the jail, according to Curry County Sheriff Matt Murray. Authorities believe the men used handmade instruments to cut a hole in the roof near a skylight.
Among the escapees are convicted murderer Edward Salas, 23, of Clovis, and 19-year-old Larry McClendon, who was being held on an open count of murder and aggravated robbery.
Salas was sentenced to life in prison last month for the 2005 shooting of a 10-year-old Clovis boy; the child was killed when shots were fired through his bedroom window as he slept. Salas was being held at the jail before being transferred to the state Department of Corrections.
McClendon, of Plainview, Texas, was charged with an open count of murder in March for his role in the January 2007 slaying of a secondhand store owner in Clovis.
The other at-large men and the charges against them are: Victor Sotelo, 36, of Portales, aggravated assault; Michael England, 29, of Clovis, tampering with evidence and being a felon in possession of a firearm; and Louis Chavez, 18, Albuquerque, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, receiving stolen property and extreme cruelty to animals.
Inmate Victor Apodaca was chased and captured soon after his escape Sunday. Raynaldo Enriquez was caught Monday in Lubbock, and Javier Zapata, 19, was captured by U.S. marshals Monday in Cactus, Texas.
Officials are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the remaining escapees, reports CBS affiliate KRQE-TV in Albuquerque.
The following are descriptions of the escapees as reported by KRQE-TV:
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In many cases such as this, the desperate escapees commit more crimes, and often kill innocent people.
One can only hope that these miscreants will resist capture.
That way, law enforcement folks can get in some target practice on "moving targets."
Escape from jail or prison should mean execution. More than likely it would in China.
But, a criminals are democrats...
why?