Crime Time

East Texas jail escapees caught hiding in barn

A capital murder suspect and a convicted drug offender who escaped from an East Texas jail were captured Thursday, two days after they slipped past a fence only to be found in a neighboring county to the north.

The Associated Press reports that Brian Allen Tucker and John Marlin King were captured in the town of Cooper, said Hopkins County sheriff’s Deputy Alvin Jordan. He said they were being returned to the Hopkins County Jail in Sulphur Springs but had no other details.

A press release from the Texas Department of Public Safety has more details:

"Investigative leads on Tuesday brought the U.S. Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force to the residence of 1050 E Dallas St, Cooper, TX where conversations were held with a man who was believed as someone that may assist Tucker while on the run. At the time there was no sign of Tucker at this location. Today at approximately 4:40 p.m., Investigative leads once again led to 1050 E Dallas St, Cooper, TX where the home owner and step son were harboring both wanted, armed fugitives in the loft of a barn behind the house.

"No tip was involved in this capture and no reward will be paid." (The latest details are at the bottom of this document.)

— Bill Miller

UPDATE: Two escapees from Hopkins County Jail back in custody

UPDATE: The manhunt for two men who escaped Tuesday from Hopkins County Jail is over. They were caught in Delta County, according to reports.

Check back for more details.

-- Bill Miller

From Tuesday:

The manhunt was on Tuesday for two inmates — including one awaiting trial for capital murder — who escaped from an East Texas jail.

The inmates slipped past a fence at the Hopkins County Jail, officials said. They dumped their jail uniforms on rail tracks near by, officials said.

They had white T-shirts and boxer shorts on underneath, but may have had clothes stashed for them on the outside, the officials said.

"Certainly, we're going to do our best to get them back," Hopkins County Sheriff Butch Adams said. "We have a lot of help here from other counties and jurisdictions."

There’s more in this report from Nomaan Merchant and John L. Mone of The Associated Press.

— Bill Miller

 

Police probe Florida fugitive's actions between escape, death in Grapevine

There are a lot of unanswered questions about what Florida fugitive Alberto Morales was doing during a massive manhunt last week in and around Grapevine.

Morales, 42, escaped Feb. 11 from Miami-Dade officers escorting him to Nevada. Shortly after midnight Saturday, police caught up with him in a wooded near the south end of Grapevine Lake; he lunged at him and they fatally shot him.

Now Grapevine police are trying to fill in the blanks between his escape and death.

This much is known: Morales was cornered after a burglary was reported at a nearby home. Items found with Morales were returned with to owners of the burglared home.

But did he break into other homes?

It was cold at night last week. Did he take shelter anywhere other than the woods?

And what became of the handcuffs he was wearing during his escape? He wasn't wearing any when he lunged with sticks at police who fatally shot him in the woods.

Did anyone help him?

Bill Miller and Domingo Ramirez Jr. reported this update.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/02/18/4628373/police-release-911-call-that-led.html#storylink=cpy

Authorities show photo of escapee's tat; documents reveal strange criminal past

Escapee Alberto Morales, who was still on the run Thursday after stabbing a Florida detective in a Grapevine parking lot Monday, has a long and unusual criminal history.

According to Miami arrest affidavits from the 1990s, Morales once hid in a kitchen cabinet at a home after he attempted to steal two Macaws.

But the record also holds plenty of violence. He punched his girlfriend when she didn't prepare him dinner.

He shot several dogs to keep them quiet as he stole over $250,000 worth of wildlife, according to the affidavits.

Authorities say Morales is a "very dangerous individual." They released this photo of his tattoo with hopes someone will see it and call police.

Domingo Ramirez Jr. has read all the affidavits and filed this report.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/02/14/4621957/florida-escapee-has-fascination.html#storylink=cpy

Man who escaped custody in Grapevine considered desperate, dangerous

Convicted sex offender and escapee Alberto Morales vowed to fellow inmates that he would never return to prison if he ever got free, police from Texas and Florida said Wednesday.

Morales, who is accused of stabbing a Florida detective late Monday in a Grapevine parking lot, remained on the run Wednesday.

The detective was transporting Morales to Nevada to face charges there when the prisoner stabbed him with a pair of eyeglasses.

At a news conference Wednesday morning, Grapevine police Sgt. Robert Eberling said authorities had no good leads and warned North Texas residents to be on high alert for Morales.

"We are very concerned that he has not been found," Eberling said. "He's a dangerous individual."

Read more in this update from Domingo Ramirez Jr.

Sheriff Valdez: Procedures not followed in Dallas escape

Standard procedures for escorting prisoners were not followed late Tuesday when a capital murder suspect grabbed a deputy's pistol and escaped from a North Texas hospital, Sheriff Lupe Valdez (shown here) said Wednesday.

The Associated Press reported that Franklin B. Davis (below) allegedly stole the deputy's gun and fled Tuesday night while at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.

He was tracked to a van nearby and surrendered peacefully after a two-hour standoff.

"Standard procedure requires for all inmates to be escorted at all times while on medical visits at Parkland," Valez said. "Procedures were not totally followed and an error was made."

Read the full AP report here.

 

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/12/04/4460456/texas-murder-suspect-flees-hospital.html#storylink=cpy

 

Two South Dakota prison inmates charged with murder after guard killed during escape attempt

Two inmates at a South Dakota prison have been charged with murder after the death of a guard Tuesday morning.

The Associated Press reports that Rodney Berget and Eric Robert, both 48,  tried to escape the South Dakota Penitentiary in Sioux Falls shortly before 11 a.m., killing 63-year-old Ronald Johnson and assaulting another guard during the attempt.

Prison officials wouldn't release further details about Johnson's death and any other information about the escape attempt and attack. The other guard, whose name has not been released, suffered minor injuries.

Berget, who is currently serving life sentences for attempted murder and kidnapping charges, was convicted of escaping from the prison in 1984 and broke out of the same facility in 1987 with five other inmates by cutting through bars in an auto shop. He was caught less than two months later.

Robert is serving an 80-year-sentence for kidnapping.

If the inmates are convicted of murdering Johnson, they could face the death penalty.

Before Johnson's death, only two corrections officers had been killed by inmates in the 130-year-history of the prison.

-Chance Welch

Preschool terror: Huge escaped inmate bursts into class with gun

A teacher and children at a Northern California preschool were terrorized this week when an escaped inmate burst into the classroom and pointed a gun at the head of the teacher who was caring for several infants at the time.

The inmate, Maurice Ainsworth, 24, is 6-fee-7-inches tall and weighs about 275 pounds and had just escaped from a female deputy at a San Francisco area hospital.

Officials said that when his handcuffs were taken off Monday for a medical procedure at the hospital, he punched Deputy Cathy Bramanti in the face, badly bit her finger and shot her in the ear with her Taser. He took her service weapon.

Ainsworth then fled to the preschool where he demanded the teacher's keys. An anti-theft device prevented the massive inmate from taking the car, so he fled to a usually quiet neighborhood.

He was captured hours later in a vacant house, the Associated Press reported.

-- Lance Murray

Ranger's suspicions lead to capture of Arizona prison escapee

The remaining escapee from an Arizona prison was arrested along with his fiance at a campsite 300 miles east of the prison.

It ended a manhunt that had literally spanned the country.

John McCluskey had escaped with two other prisoners on July 30 from the private prison and had eluded authorities in six states before being caught, the Associated Press reported.

McCluskey, 45, and Casslyn Welch, 44, were caught at a campsite in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in eastern Arizona after a suspicious forest ranger found an unattended campsite and a Nissan backed suspiciously into the woods.  The ranger actually had a brief conversation with McCluskey and then reported his discovery.

A SWAT team moved in for the capture, the Associated Press reported.

-- Lance Murray

Escaped child molester caught after week on the lam in Houston

Authorities in Houston say that an escaped child molester has been recaptured in north Houston, the Houston Chronicle is reporting.

Arcade Joseph Comeuax, 49, was arrested at a business where employees had let him in to get water. Police were called by an another business where he had tried to get in to use the phone, the paper reported.

The supposedly disable Comeaux, shackled to a wheelchair in a prison vehicle, was able to escape a week ago from guards by pulling a gun on them. He then took their weapons and fled on foot.

-- Lance Murray