4 Fugitives Arrested, 1 Kills Self In Colorado

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4 Fugitives Arrested, 1 Kills Self In Colorado

Police Say Remaining Fugitives May Be In Denver Area

WOODLAND PARK, Colo., 5:58 p.m. EST January 22, 2001 -- Four of the Texas 7 were

arrested Monday in a small Colorado town, while a fifth suspect died from a

self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

Teller County Undersheriff Dougherty said that three of the four men were

arrested as they pulled up for gasoline at a convenience store near Woodland

Park.

" They were surrounded immediately by the police, " Hossein Taraghi, a Western

Convenience Stores executive, said.

The fourth man was arrested as he left a trailer in a combination motel and

mobile home park, the Coachlight Motel and R.V. Park.

Parts of Woodland Park were shut down while authorities searched for the other

three suspects Monday morning.

Prison officials in Texas said that the alleged ringleader of the group,

Rivas, is among those who have been taken into custody. Investigators have

portrayed Rivas, 30, as fearless and shrewd with a powerful hold over the

others.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said that and ph

were among the others in custody.

Larry Harper, who was inside an RV, asked to speak to his father. Authorities

fired tear gas in the area of the RV.

Teller County sheriff's officers have been watching an RV since Sunday, and said

they knew that five of the fugitives were inside.

" We do have four in custody, " Lt. Hartment of the El Paso County

sheriff's office said. " I'm not sure which four.

" This was a joint effort of the Teller County Sheriff's Department, the El Paso

County Sheriff's Department, the State Patrol, the FBI and the U.S. marshals. "

Denver police have received a tip that some of the other fugitives may be in the

Denver area.

Tull of the Irving Police Department said that the two at-large suspects

were at the trailer park, but left around 1 p.m. Sunday and " hit the road. "

" We are starting extradition proceedings to bring the suspects back to Texas, "

Tull said. " We are talking with the escapees. "

Leon Guinn of the Texas Department of Corrections said that the captured

escapees will be arraigned in federal court. Once a federal judge releases them,

they will be extradited to Texas, but the process could take a couple of days.

Denver police have put out an alert advising officers to be on high alert for a

rust-colored 1975 Ford conversion van headed toward Denver.

The van is described as having five tinted side windows with blinds, no ladder

on the back, standard heavy-duty rims and blackwall tires.

The Denver Police Department said that the van is loaded with weapons.

and Newbury are still unaccounted for.

The seven inmates, including two convicted murderers, escaped from a South Texas

prison Dec. 13 after overpowering seven civilian employees at the Connally Unit

in Kenedy, Texas.

A guard and seven workers were treated for minor injuries following the escape.

, 29, was serving 50 years for murder and , 38, was serving a

life sentence for capital murder.

Prison spokesman Larry Todd said that the inmates stole a Department of Criminal

Justice pickup, a shotgun and some pistols as they fled the unit near Kenedy.

The breakout was the biggest escape from a Texas state prison in modern

history. Texas had recaptured all but one of the 143 inmates who escaped from

its state prisons in the past 10 years. Most were inmates who walked away from

work duty or escaped alone or in small groups.

The inmates are wanted in two robberies and the slaying of Irving, Texas, police

officer Aubrey Hawkins.

The escapees are accused of killing Hawkins and taking more weapons during a

Christmas Eve robbery of an Oshman's Supersports USA in Irving, a Dallas suburb.

All seven fugitives could face capital murder charges in the slaying.

The robbers escaped with $70,000 in cash and checks, numerous weapons and

clothing. They were believed to have stolen more guns from the sporting goods

store.

Fears that the heavily armed gang was planning a showdown prompted police

departments across the region to carry extra firepower and take additional

precautions.

The FBI drew psychological profiles of the seven, and investigators believe that

the ringleader is Rivas, 30, who was serving a life sentence for aggravated

robbery and kidnapping.

The Texas 7

a.. Rivas, 30, serving 99 years for aggravated kidnapping and burglary.

He and two other men robbed an Oshman's in El Paso, Texas, in April 1993. The

robbers forced the employees to handcuff themselves and then escaped with money.

More than a month later, they robbed a Toys " R " Us but were caught while trying

to escape.

b.. Randy Halprin, 23, serving 30 years for injury to a child, beat up a baby.

He had met the mother in an Arlington homeless shelter in July 1996 and moved in

with the family. A month later, while the mother and two other children were

playing in a different room, Halprin repeatedly beat the infant because, he

later said, the baby would not stop crying. When the child was taken to the

hospital the next day, doctors discovered broken arms, legs and a fractured

skull.

c.. , 38, serving a life sentence for capital murder in San

, was convicted of paying another man $2,000 to kill his wife so he could

collect $400,000 in life insurance. 's wife was shot in the head in

July 1992 after she and her husband came home from a movie. She died on the

floor of their garage.

d.. Larry Harper, 37, serving 50 years for aggravated sexual assault in El

Paso, raped three women over six months in 1993 and 1994. Each time, he

surprised the women at their home, tied them up and repeatedly assaulted them.

Harper's victims lived near the University of Texas at El Paso, where he

attended marketing classes between 1986 and 1994. Officials said they doubt that

Harper is a ringleader because he is easily swayed by stronger personalities.

e.. Jr., 39, serving 50 years for aggravated sexual assault

with a deadly weapon in Dallas. The Dallas native entered the home of a

23-year-old woman whom he had known since high school and put a knife to her

throat. then covered the victim's head with a pillowcase, cut off her

nightgown and raped her, court records show. Three days before the crime,

pleaded guilty to a burglary charge.

f.. Newbury, 38, serving 99 years for aggravated robbery, robbed a

woman at an Austin hotel in 1997. He was armed with a sawed-off shotgun. Newbury

is a three-time felon whose first armed robbery conviction came in 1981. He was

convicted of armed robbery again in 1987, and was suspected in about a dozen

other armed robberies in the Austin area in 1986 and 1987.

g.. ph , 29, serving 50 years for murder in San . He stabbed

Luna to death after the two men had a frustrating drive together and Luna

gave bad directions. When stopped the car, Luna attacked him and grabbed

his keys. chased Luna, jumped on him and stabbed him 19 times.

said he acted in self-defense.