LULAC Asks For Answers In Prison Escape
Police Say Inmates Added To Arsenal After Recent Robbery
Members of the League of United Latin American Citizens Council No. 1, based in Corpus Christi, say that lawmakers should conduct oversight hearings to determine how the inmates pulled it off.
They also said that the hearings should establish accountability.
Texas State Sen. Carlos Truan, D-Corpus Christi, said that he supports the hearings and that he would introduce legislation, calling for a joint session of the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Since the gang of seven Texas inmates (pictured, above, below) escaped Dec. 13 from the Connally Unit in Kenedy, a maximum-security state prison ringed with razor wire about 60 miles southeast of San Antonio, they have been accused of killing Irving police officer Aubry Hawkins in a Christmas Eve robbery near Dallas.
Hawkins was shot multiple times by the suspects, but investigators haven't confirmed whether the officer fired his weapon and hit one of them.
A memorial service will be held Thursday for the 29-year-old police officer, who is survived by a wife and 9-year-old son.
"They are among us," Irving police spokesman David Tull said. "We need the help in getting them and that's the most important thing. Don't be scared, but be aware."
Rather than go their separate ways, back to families, favorite haunts and old running buddies, the inmates appear to have stuck together and appear to have plans for more crimes, law authorities said.
The inmates evaded more than 200 searchers using helicopters, horses and tracking dogs and disappeared until the Christmas Eve robbery and shooting.
During the robbery at an Irving Oshman's Super Sports USA store, the inmates stole at least 25 new weapons, many of them semiautomatic hunting rifles and pistols, to add to 14 .357 Magnum pistols with 238 rounds of ammunition, a loaded automatic rifle and a loaded shotgun that they stole from a guard tower, according to a report in the Dallas Morning News.
They also reportedly made off with a large amount of ammunition, a shopping cart full of winter clothes and $70,000 in cash.
Some law enforcement officials fear the inmates may be preparing for a shoot-out with police, aware that they could face the death penalty if caught.
Combined with an arsenal of weapons stolen during the prison escape, police are extremely worried about the firepower possessed by the group still at large.
The inmates also are suspected of robbing a Radio Shack near Houston on Dec. 15.
Rewards totaling $23,000 have been offered by the governor's office, Schepp's Dairy and Crime Stoppers Anonymous for clues leading to the arrest of the seven men. Call (800) 737-8143.
