Font Size

New York Local News

E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

'Shawshank'-Style Escapees Indicted By Grand Jury

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

Recipient E-mail:*
- Your Name:*
- Your E-mail:*
Add a Message:
Send me a copy of this e-mail.

Type the characters in this picture:*

Click here to refresh with new letters

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

Print Share + Comments

Feb 8, 2008 1:42 pm US/Eastern

'Shawshank'-Style Escapees Indicted By Grand Jury

ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: A grand jury has indicted two prisoners who staged a brazen escape from Union County Jail in December and spent nearly a month on the lam before being captured.
CBS

Close

numSlides of totalImages

Inmate In 'Shawshank' Escape Says He Paid Officer
(1/28/2008)
'Shawshank' - Style Escapees Return To Court
(1/18/2008)
Officials Investigate Fire Where Inmate Was Found
(1/13/2008)
2nd Escapee From N.J. Jail Returns To U.S.
(1/11/2008)
Second 'Shawshank'-Style Escapee Nabbed In Mexico
(1/10/2008)
Guards Didn't Notice Missing Inmates For 20 Hours
(1/9/2008)
Sharpton Tries To Get Prison Escapee To Surrender
(1/9/2008)
Cops Nab 1 Of 'Shawshank'-Style Prison Escapees
(1/9/2008)

A grand jury has indicted two prisoners who staged a brazen escape from Union County Jail in December and spent nearly a month on the lam before being captured.

Otis Blunt and Jose Espinosa each face a count of third-degree escape, which could add three to five years to each man's sentence, according to the Union County Prosecutor's Office.

At the time they escaped, Blunt, 33, was facing robbery and weapons charges stemming from the shooting of a convenience store manager; Espinosa had pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and was awaiting sentencing.

The men escaped on the evening of Dec. 14 by squeezing through a hole they had dug through a cinder block cell wall. They had covered the hole with a pinup photo, a ploy similar to one depicted in the movie "The Shawshank Redemption."

The pair exited onto a third-floor rooftop, then leaped over a 25-foot-high fence topped with razor wire.

The inmates had piled sheets under their blankets to make it appear they were sleeping, and guards didn't raise an alarm until 5 p.m. on Dec. 15.

The escapees left behind a taunting note thanking one guard for his "help." That guard, Rudolph Zurick, 40, committed suicide two weeks after the escape, although investigators have said there is no evidence any guard knowingly assisted the prisoners.

An investigation into the escape revealed that the cells of the two inmates had not been searched for more than two months prior to the breakout.

Two corrections officers and three sergeants face a total of 16 administrative charges stemming from the escape. All face possibly being fired.

Espinosa, identified by authorities as an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was found on Jan. 8 in a basement apartment near the jail. Blunt was arrested the next day at a cheap hotel in Mexico City.

Add Comment

here. here. Need a log in? Register here

Your Name
Your E-Mail * Will not be displayed with comment
Suggest Link * e.g. (http://www.mywebsite.com)
Your Comment

Type the characters in this picture:*

Click here to refresh with new letters

Show Comments (0)

Close Window Login

Password:

Forgot Password | Register Here

Close Window Flag Comment

You are flagging the following comment:

Username:
E-mail:
Reason:

Type the characters in this picture:*

Click here to refresh with new letters

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.