Pole Vault Jailbreak in New Mexico in 1987?

[rainbowgirl28]

Can anyone confirm/deny/tell me more about this?


http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/240 ... ng-lessons

At a jail in New Mexico in 1987, seven men – including two murderers – pole-vaulted over the wall.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.h ... A961948260

2 KILLERS AND 5 OTHERS ESCAPE FROM NEW MEXICO PRISON

AP
Published: July 6, 1987
LEAD: Two convicted murderers and five other inmates escaped Saturday night from a state prison south of here by pulling a gun on a guard and pole-vaulting over a barbed-wire fence.

Two convicted murderers and five other inmates escaped Saturday night from a state prison south of here by pulling a gun on a guard and pole-vaulting over a barbed-wire fence.

Hundreds of law officers scoured the countryside today and roadblocks were set up around Santa Fe. Helicopters scanned the landscape after the prisoners' well-planned breakout from the Penitentiary of New Mexico south of here.

The complex was the site of one of the bloodiest prison riots in American history in 1980, when 33 inmates died.

The escape began about at 9 P.M. when a convicted murderer, William Wayne Gilbert, who was out of his cell mopping floors, pulled a gun on a guard at the prison's maximum-security North Facility, the authorities said. Guard Tower Is Vacant

Mr. Gilbert then used the guard to enter the prison control center, where he shot the sole officer on duty and opened the cell doors of the six other inmates, according to Robert Greeney, a corrections officer.

The inmates went through an emergency door in the control center to the roof, where they reached a wall behind the prison, walking along its top before using a pole next to the wall to vault a barbed-wire fence.

The prison's guard tower had been staffed only from 7 A.M. to 8 P.M. daily due to financial restrictions, said a Corrections Department spokesman.

Mr. Gilbert had been sentenced to death in 1980 for killing an Albuquerque couple. His sentence and those of the state's four other condemned men, were commuted to life in prison in November by former Gov. Toney Anaya.

The authorities said it had not determined how Mr. Gilbert got a gun. Officials were checking records of visits to the inmates.

Corrections Secretary O. Lane McCotter said the escapees included Robert Earl Davis, a former Albuquerque police officer serving time for burglaries, escape and assault; Jimmy Kinslow, serving three life sentences for the murders of a 38-year-old Chaparral woman and her two daughters; and David Gallegos, serving 118 years for 10 armed robberies.

The remaining escapees were identified only as Michael Schmidt, Michael Romero and Hector Herman Torres.

The wounded officer, Todd Wilson, was listed in good condition today in a Santa Fe hospital.

Mr. Greeney said the point from which the inmates escaped had in the past been identified as a weak point in the prison's security. He said the spot will be strengthened.

The guard tower had not been manned at all from August 1985, when the 288-inmate North Facility opened, until June 22, when an inmate escaped.

Prison officials became aware of the escape about 15 minutes after the inmates vaulted the fence. The authorities said they believe the men headed south, toward Albuquerque.

[patybobady]

Simply Stunning! I have printed this article (both) and they are on my classroom door!