A search was under way on Saturday for a prisoner who escaped from a prison transport bus and allegedly stabbed a correctional officer in Texas on Thursday afternoon – and authorities are offering a reward of $ 22,500 for any information leading to his arrest.
Gonzalo Lopez, 46, who is serving a life sentence for the murder, was traveling by bus with 15 other inmates from Huntsville to Gatesville, about 160 miles by car, when the attack took place, the U.S. Marshall Service said in a statement Friday. .
According to officials, Lopez “managed to break free of his restraints and use an object to stab the driver of the bus.” Outside the bus, a fight with a correctional officer ensued, and Lopez managed to seize the policeman’s pistol, but he “failed to pull it out of its holster.”
Lopez tried to escape by bus, but a second repairman fired the car’s rear tires. “He traveled only about a mile before losing control and crashing. He then took off in a nearby field, police said, adding that other prisoners had not escaped from the bus.
Gonzalo Lopez escaped from a prison bus in Texas on Thursday, the US Marshals Service said. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice / AP)
More than 300 law enforcement officials, including FBI members, are searching for Lopez, who escaped arrest in Leon County, a rural area between Houston and Dallas.
“I can’t say enough about how dangerous this man is and how much public help is needed to find him,” Texas Justice Department spokesman Robert Hirst said Friday.
“We don’t know if he got any kind of weapon,” Hearst added. “The last thing we saw, he didn’t seem to have a gun, but who knows what he might have gotten.
“If anyone has seen it, if anyone has any reason to believe it has been on their property, please contact local law enforcement officials via 911.”
Authorities said Lopez was linked to the Mexican mafia and had links to the Rio Grande Valley and areas of San Antonio.
In 1996, he was convicted of aggravated assault and received two to eight years in prison. Lopez is currently serving two life sentences for the 2004 shooting of a deputy sheriff in Web County and the murder of a pickaxe man in Hidalgo County in 2005 after he demanded a ransom for a $ 40,000 drug debt. who owed the cartel.
The story continues
Lopez was added to Texas’ list of most wanted fugitives on Friday. Together, the U.S. Marshal’s Office, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Texas Department of Public Safety are offering a total of $ 22,500 in cash for information leading to his arrest.
Officials warned that Lopez was “armed and dangerous.” He is described as a 6 foot tall Spaniard weighing about 185 pounds.
Anyone with information is encouraged to complete this form for the Ministry of Criminal Justice Council or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-832-8477 or 936-437-5171, or dial 911.
Add Comment