Escaped From Jail

Otis Blunt, left, and Jose Espinosa escaped from the Union County jail Saturday night, officials say. (AP) ELIZABETH, N.J. – 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 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.

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1 of 2 New Jersey jail escapees caught By CHRIS NEWMARKER, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jan 9, 7:32 AM ET

One of two inmates wanted in a daring jailbreak last month that echoed the plot of "The Shawshank Redemption" was captured in an apartment just six blocks from the jail, authorities said.

A team of federal and local law enforcement officers arrested Jose Espinosa without incident Tuesday night in Elizabeth, said James T. Plousis, U.S. marshal for New Jersey. Otis Blunt, with whom Plousis escaped Dec. 15, remained at large.

Espinosa, 20, was alone when arrested and had a leg injury suffered when he and Blunt made their escape, Plousis said. The two are believed to have jumped onto a roof, from which they leaped over a 25-foot-high fence topped with razor wire.

Authorities got a tip Tuesday to Espinosa's whereabouts, Plousis said, adding that he could not provide details. Espinosa was being questioned Tuesday night by Union County police, Plousis said.

Authorities have no reason to believe that Blunt had been with Espinosa, Plousis said.

The Rev. Al Sharpton said Monday that he had been contacted by people in touch with Blunt and was trying to arrange his surrender.

The Union County prosecutor's office said the two inmates used photos of bikini-clad women to hide holes they dug through the cinder-block walls of their adjoining cells in a high-security unit.

In "The Shawshank Redemption," the main character uses posters of women to conceal the escape tunnel he is digging.

The inmates left a cheeky note thanking one of their guards, Rudolph Zurick, for helping them, although authorities have said there was no evidence that Zurick helped them.

The guard committed suicide Jan. 2, the day he was to speak to investigators about the escape. He was buried Monday.

Blunt, 32, was awaiting trial for robbery and weapons offenses at the time of the escape. Espinosa was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to manslaughter in a 2005 drive-by shooting.

Changes were made at the jail in the aftermath of the escape, including the reassignment of its director, the removal of his top deputy and the ordering of a full-scale security review.
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http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/91782

Reverend Sharpton Say He's Not A Bounty Hunter
Fugitives flights embroils activists in controversey
Arun Venugopal



NEW YORK, NY January 10, 2008 —Reverend Al Sharpton says he and his associates kept law enforcement fully informed as they tried to broker a failed surrender by escaped convict Otis Blunt.

Blunt was captured by police in Mexico, where Sharpton and others headed in hopes of helping the fugitive turn himself in. According to Sharpton, Blunt was worried about tensions back in New Jersey, where a prison guard had committed suicide after Blunt's escape.

SHARPTON: He had mulled it over in his head. He was concerned that he not be harmed. And I told him, I don't know anything about your case. I'm not in a crusade here. I'm making a response to a humanitarian appeal.

HOST: In response to criticism from the Union County, New Jersey prosecutor that Sharpton hadn't kept him informed, Sharpton said he had stayed in touch with police commissioner Ray Kelly and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo

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Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
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AND WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS SHARPTON DOING INVOLVED !

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Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

Simple: Spotlighted media attention...afterall look what a previous high profiled, Mexican apprehension garnered for another publicity "hound" ? His own tv show and millions of dollars....

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