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Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Arrests Made in Curry County Escape
By Betsy Blaney
Associated Press
CLOVIS — Authorities filed charges Wednesday against four Curry County jail inmates for allegedly helping eight inmates break out, while two people close to the fugitives also were arrested in the investigation.
Five of the escapees remained at large. Three were recaptured within 24 hours of Sunday's jail break.
Authorities said the four inmates, who were not among the escapees, face six charges each: three counts of assisting escape and three counts of harboring or aiding a felon.
Also arrested were two others:
—Isodoro Salas of Albuquerque, father of escaped inmate Edward Salas. The elder Salas was arrested on a probation violation and for resisting or obstruction of officer because authorities said he didn't cooperate with investigators.
—Asha Curry of Clovis, the mother of escapee Michael England's child.
Investigators believe it took the inmates seven hours to cut through the jail's roof, apparently the culmination of a two- or three-day planning effort. They said five prisoners came from one jail pod and three from another.
Three inmates were captured — two in neighboring Texas and one in Clovis.
Victor Apodaca was chased and captured soon after his escape; a tip led authorities to Raynaldo Enriquez not far away in Lubbock, Texas; another fugitive, Javier Zapata, 19, was captured by U.S. marshals late Monday in Cactus, Texas.
District Attorney Matt Chandler said investigators believe some of the at-large 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.
New Mexico State Police began looked closely Tuesday at whether anyone inside the facility helped the men escape, Chandler said.
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, and climbed plumbing pipes to get to the roof area. Murray said it appeared some in the group used a tree to break their falls to reach street level.
Among the escapees are the younger Salas, 23, a convicted murderer from 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, who was killed when shots were fired through his bedroom window as he slept. He was being held at the jail before being transferred to the state Department of Corrections.
Chandler said the television show "America's Most Wanted" plans to feature Salas' story on Saturday.
The show will discuss the escape in an effort to help capture the fugitives, he said.
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; 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.
Copyright ©2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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