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Sexy Posters Used in Daring Jailbreak

By JEFFREY GOLD,
AP
Posted: 2007-12-18 11:53:46
Filed Under: Nation News
ELIZABETH, N.J. (Dec. 17) - 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.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-12-17 17:37:37
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Recent Comments

1 - 10 of 1689
1689 comments

rollinsmr 02:27:00 PM Dec 19 2007

HmMof has time on hand to correct english for all. Wow wish I had that kind of time crazy

HmMof 12:44:03 PM Dec 19 2007

mlj1029 said:
Oorochiblood - before you try to give us all an English lesson, learn the difference between "their" and "there" and "they're"!

I'd like to add to that as well... think before you post!! Here's a sample of things you should work on:

"dofis", "already your one of the many people", "I think he as trying", "what your saying"

Correct others only when you've learned how to do it properly yourself.

whdsr02 08:41:08 PM Dec 18 2007

The escape reminds me of the one in Philadelphia. Slick Willie Sutton escaped from Eastern State Penn. back some years ago.

sivvybee34 07:03:50 PM Dec 18 2007

cool

mlj1029 06:27:29 PM Dec 18 2007

Oorochiblood - before you try to give us all an English lesson, learn the difference between "their" and "there" and "they're"!

OorochiBlood 06:11:19 PM Dec 18 2007

These guys did the unthinkable. I have to say more and likely they will go to there old neighborhoods. As szewze363 mentioned . You have to think are these two capable of being seen or taking the role of being unseen. I hope these guys do the next best think. Go to either Cuba or Mexico. One place you can have a nice Montecristo cigar and the other place a good taco. Who knows what will happen . Let's just cheer for these two thugs living the American dream. That is you can get away with anything America. The main rule is not to get caught.

OorochiBlood 06:05:32 PM Dec 18 2007

dushbags did you mean the word douchebags. Learn how to spell please.

viktor
"how likely is it that these two dushbags simply just wanted to taunt the authorities that imprisoned them?"

About as likely as jewish kids in Germany toilet papering the local Gestapo Headquarters on Holloween night

The authorities already your one of the many people who suffer from being extremely dumb

szewze363 06:04:38 PM Dec 18 2007

Well,they seem to have been smarter than the average inmate.
Devising such a plot and carrying it out in a matter of a few short weeks.
Now,let's see if they are dumb enough to return to their old neighborhoods.
Most of them do....that's how they are recaptured.
Hopefully no innocent citizen will be injured by either of them.

OorochiBlood 06:03:10 PM Dec 18 2007

ajames448

THAT'S RIGHT NOW THEY CAN GO OUT AND KILL AS MENY PEOPLE AS PASSABLE AND THEY WONT GET THE DEATH PENATLY. THEY CAN GO BACK TO THERE WORM SELLS AND THERE WORM MELLS AND BRAGE ABOUT WHAT TO DID.

Meny( replace the e with a "A". ) That should fit a lot better. The word you were trying to use was Many

OorochiBlood 06:01:43 PM Dec 18 2007

viktor
"how likely is it that these two dushbags simply just wanted to taunt the authorities that imprisoned them?"

About as likely as jewish kids in Germany toilet papering the local Gestapo Headquarters on Holloween night.

Look at this one: Holloween, it's Halloween you dofis

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