FBI searching for 2 Texas escapees still on the loose

Four arrested; another commits suicide

In this story: Tuesday court date On the lam since December 13 Reward at $500,000 RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

WOODLAND PARK, Colorado -- FBI agents say that while four escapees from a Texas prison are now in custody in Woodland Park, two others believed to be armed and dangerous remain at large.

"It is very important for the public to listen," FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Marshon said Monday. "We have two subjects that are still on the loose. They are armed and extremely dangerous. They are in fact heavily armed. We know this based upon an interview with the subjects in custody."

Marshon said Donald Keith Newbury and Patrick Henry Murphy Jr. were reported to be driving a late 1970s or early 1980s brown or maroon conversion van with white curtains in the side and back windows. It was last seen with temporary tags.

VIDEO CNN interviews John Walsh, host of 'America's Most Wanted' part 1 | part 2 (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   RESOURCES Key dates in the Texas prison escape Texas Department Department of Criminal Justice report on the December 13 prison escape Profiles of the escapees     CONTACT Anyone with information on the fugitives should call Crime Stoppers Anonymous 1 (800) 737-8143     MESSAGE BOARD Violence in America

"We know that they were here, probably yesterday, maybe even as late as yesterday afternoon," said El Paso County (Colorado) Sheriff John Anderson. "We have had this location under surveillance since before 2 o'clock this morning, so we know they didn't slip out during this time. So they do have a bit of a head start on us."

Newbury, 38, is serving 99 years for aggravated robbery. He robbed a woman at a hotel in 1997 while armed with a sawed-off shotgun. He had two previous convictions for armed robbery and was suspected in about a dozen other holdups in the Austin, Texas, area in 1986 and 1987.

Murphy, 39, is serving 50 years for aggravated sexual assault with a deadly weapon. He was convicted of entering the home of a 23-year-old woman he had known since high school, putting a knife to her throat and raping her.

Anderson said the public gets credit for calling in a tip that helped authorities locate five of the fugitives. And he urged anyone who sees the remaining two to call their local FBI office.

He said a couple who had become acquainted with some of the escapees saw a segment on them on "America's Most Wanted" on Saturday night and wondered whether their new friends were some of the escapees. They later called up the show's Web page and made the connection.

The fifth fugitive, Larry Harper, a convicted rapist, shot himself in the chest while police surrounded the Woodland Park mobile home he was in, police said. While negotiating with Harper, police heard a gunshot and later found Harper dead inside, they said.

Harper had told one of the other fugitives he would surrender after he was allowed to talk to his father.

Earlier Monday, police arrested four of the seven men, who escaped from a maximum security prison in Texas on December 13.

Mac Stringfellow, chairman of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said the four were captured without incident.

"No shots were fired," Stringfellow said.

Authorities said those under arrest are: George Rivas, Joseph Garcia, Michael Rodriguez and Randy Halprin.

Anderson said Halprin was treated for a gunshot in the foot, which the sheriff said the escapee had suffered before Monday's arrest -- possibly on the night of a robbery in Irving, Texas, in which the escapees are suspected of killing police officer Aubrey Hawkins.

Anderson said he didn't know if Halprin had been shot by Hawkins or whether the wound was self-inflicted.

Teller County (Colorado) Undersheriff Kevin Dougherty said three of the men were arrested in the area of the Coachlight Motel and R.V. Park, south of Woodland Park.

"Three of them were arrested out of a silver Jeep that was pulled over down at the Western Convenience (store) as it left the motor home that's up in the Coachlight area. And the fourth one was taken from the motor home area," he said.

Anderson characterized the surrender of the three as "reluctant but overwhelmed."

"The SWAT team descended on that vehicle in a pretty significant way," Anderson said. "I think they would have fought it out if there had been less of a presence, but I think they realized it would be fruitless."

Dougherty said he believed weapons were confiscated in the arrest.

Anderson said two of the three captured in the Jeep -- he didn't say which -- had tried to alter their appearance. One, he said, had dyed his hair blonde and another "almost orange-red."

Tuesday court date

The four escapees who were arrested are in the custody of federal marshals at the Teller County, Colorado, jail. They will be taken to Denver, where they are expected to appear in U.S. District Court on Tuesday. The four will be arraigned on a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and possibly other charges, according to federal law enforcement officials.

"In court, it could go in a number of directions," said a senior law enforcement official supervising the unfolding case. Another federal law enforcement source said it's likely the four men will be returned to Texas within days. "Tomorrow would be awfully fast, but probably within a week," he said.

The arrested fugitives would remain in federal custody in Texas prior to any trials. "They won't be going back to the same prison they escaped from," the source said.

On the lam since December 13

All seven fugitives escaped from a maximum security unit of a Texas prison near San Antonio, Texas, on December 13.

Woodland Park, where the five fugitives were discovered, is about 50 miles south of Denver in the Rocky Mountain foothills, or more than 800 miles from the prison.

The office of Ute Pass Courier newspaper overlooks the park. The paper's publisher said the park consists of about 25 to 30 recreational vehicles and that people live in the secluded, wooded area year-round.

Authorities said the park manager said the men checked into the park about one week ago. Authorities believe they arrived in the area around January 1.

Authorities say the arrests were made at a private residence in an RV park

A tip led authorities to the mobile home.

John Walsh, the host of "America's Most Wanted," credits a diehard fan of his show for calling an toll-free phone number to report sighting the fugitives, as did about nine other people. Walsh said the male viewer had also called the local sheriff's office.

A woman told CNN affiliate WFFA in Dallas, Texas, that she encountered some of the men who were living in the motor home. She even went to church with one of them, whom she described as clean-cut, well groomed and resembling a college student. That particular man, who told her his name was Jim, said he and his companions were traveling across the country.

The fugitives -- described by authorities as armed and dangerous -- overpowered civilian workers and a guard to flee the Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas, on December 13. The group included two convicted killers, two rapists, a child abuser, a kidnapper and a robber.

The inmates left the prison with 14 revolvers, a shotgun, a rifle and more than 200 rounds of ammunition. They later amassed dozens more weapons in a sporting goods store robbery on Christmas Eve, during which Hawkins was shot to death.

All seven now are wanted on capital murder charges connected to that shooting.

Reward at $500,000

Fears that the heavily armed gang was planning a showdown prompted police departments across the region to carry extra firepower and take additional precautions.

The seven fugitives were featured on the television show "America's Most Wanted," and the reward for their arrest and conviction grew to $500,000.

The FBI drew psychological profiles of the seven, and investigators believe the ringleader is Rivas, 30, who was serving a life sentence for aggravated robbery and kidnapping. Investigators have portrayed Rivas as fearless and shrewd, with a powerful hold over the others.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Witnesses say they saw Texas jail escapees north of Houston
January 16, 2001
Reward for Texas 7 grows to $440,000
January 15, 2001
Prison staff could be fired in Texas inmates' escape
January 11, 2001
Public reward fund aimed at anyone aiding Texas fugitives
January 8, 2001
Reward doubled for dangerous Texas fugitives
January 7, 2001

Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • Dallas - FBI's Most Wanted
Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.