Escapee's Mother Arrested, Authorities Get New Leads In Inmate Search

CLOVIS, N.M. -- Curry County authorities said Esther England, mother of escapee Michael England, was arrested Thursday afternoon for harboring or aiding a felon and for obstructing an officer. She is being held at the Curry County Detention Center.

The Clovis News-Journal reports that officials said Hester England had seen and talked with her son and escapee McClendon since their escape from the Curry County jail on Sunday. The news report states that court records allege both men stopped by Hester England's Clovis home for clothes after their escape.

The report also said court records indicate Hester was arrested after her 8-year-old grandson told a school counselor he saw his father while he was at his grandmother's house watching TV.

Curry County authorities said they're getting many new leads to help them in their search for the five inmates, including a convicted murderer, who are still at large.

Eight inmates escaped from the Curry County Adult Detention Center in Clovis just before 10 p.m. Sunday, without guards noticing at first. Curry County Undersheriff Wesley Waller told Action 7 News the men managed to get out through the building's roof. Officials said the Curry County inmates shimmied up pipes behind a wall in a jail shower, then cut a hole in the roof and apparently used an evergreen tree to break their fall from the two-story building. No one was injured during the escape.

Investigators believe it took the inmates seven hours to cut through the jail's roof, apparently the culmination of a two- or three-day planning effort. They said five prisoners came from one jail pod and three from another.

Curry County Undersheriff Wesley Waller said his department is still getting quite a few tips in and is following up on those leads.

Waller said authorities are searching throughout New Mexico and West Texas, but that the search wasn't limited to those regions.

He declined to say what other areas the search included, for fear of tipping off those inmates still at large.

Authorities filed charges Wednesday against four Curry County jail inmates for allegedly helping eight inmates break out, while two relatives of the fugitives also were arrested in the investigation.

Authorities said the four inmates, who were not among the escapees, face six charges each: three counts of assisting escape and three counts of harboring or aiding a felon.

Also arrested were two others:

-Isodoro Salas of Albuquerque, father of escaped inmate Edward Salas. The elder Salas was arrested on a probation violation and for resisting or obstruction of officer because authorities said he didn't cooperate with investigators.

-Asha Curry of Clovis, the mother of escapee Michael England's child.

Clovis police officers captured one of the escapees, Victor Apodaca, overnight Monday and escapee Raynaldo Enriquez was picked up in Lubbock, Tx. late Monday afternoon. Javier Zapata was captured late Monday night in Cactus, Tx. Five other inmates remain at large.

Apodaca was sentenced Tuesday in Curry County to fifteen years on the original charges he faced which were kidnapping, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and trafficking methamphetamine. He could also face an additional sentence of four and half years for the escape.

Enriquez, who was captured Monday near Lubbock, Tx., will be transported back to New Mexico to face additional charges for escaping.

Authorities said there were 194 prisoners in custody at the time of the escape, with just seven officers supervising the halls. They also said they're typically understaffed.

Among the inmates still at large are convicted murderer Edward Salas of Clovis and Larry McClendon, who was being held on an open count of murder and aggravated robbery.

Salas was serving a life sentence after being convicted of murdering a 10-year-old boy in 2005. Police said Salas, 21, sprayed bullets with a semiautomatic weapon into the victim's bedroom as the boy slept.

Authorities are offering up to a $3,000 reward for Salas and a $2,500 reward for McClendon.

Another escapee, Victor Sotelo, is also set to go on trial for aggravated assault in the coming weeks. The remaining escapees, Michael England and Louis Chavez, were in jail facing a list of charges involving violent crimes, as well.

Multiple homes were searched in the Clovis area as investigators followed up on tips. Authorities also searched an Albuquerque home and followed up on a lead in Cactus, Texas. Authorities said the search has expanded nationwide.

A number of law enforcement agencies are involved in the search, including the Curry County Sheriff's Department, Clovis and Portales police departments, New Mexico State Police and the U.S. Marshal's Service. Counties in Texas are also assisting in the search.

They urge anyone who sees them to call 911 and to avoid approaching the men because they are considered dangerous.

Still at large are:

Edward Salas - 21 years of age, 5'5", 180lbs, Brown hair, Brown eyes. Tattoo on back: "SALAS". Tattoo on right arm: "LISA". Convicted of murder and was pending transfer to the NM Department of Corrections.

Larry McClendon - 19 years of age, 6'1", 152 lbs, Black hair, Brown eyes. No tattoos. Pending murder and aggravated robbery charges.

Victor Sotelo - 26 years of age, 5'3", 135 lbs, Black hair, Brown eyes. Tattoo on stomach "SHORTY". Pending charges for aggravated assault.

Michael England - 29 years of age, 5'7", 130 lbs, Black hair, Brown eyes. Tattoo on back: "Only God Can Judge Me." Tattoo on right forearm: "South". Tattoo on left forearm: "Side". Pending charges for tampering with evidence and felon in possession of a firearm.

Louis Chavez - 18 years of age, 5'2", 177 lbs., Black hair, Brown eyes. Tattoos: Chest - "FEAR NONE", Both arms: Tribal patterns.

Click here for a slideshow of the escapees' pictures.