Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1910-09-17
WAS READY TO MURDER
HIS WAY TO FREEDOM
JAIL BREAK BY
ClEMENTE LURANO.
Armed With a Knife, Found on Top
of Cells.

Clemente Lurano. awaiting the ac-
ton of the grand jury on charge of
forgery, started on Thursday on
break for freedom and evidently in
tended to commit murder to attain
it, Lurano was associated with a
Japanese at Glendale in series of
forgerics and three or four months
ago he was held to the grand jury.
on account of his afflction with u
lcathsome disease he had not of late
been confined with the other felony
prisoners in the lower part of the
Jail The short term men in the up
per part are not so closely guarded,
still there seemed no way i'll which
one could escape from that section
of the Jail
on Thursday evening Deputy
Sheriffs Mickey and Wilson thought
they heard a noise in the Jail but,
making an investigation, they dis
covered nothing out of the ordinary.
\ little later a prisoner in the jag
cell outside the Jail proper broke
window and Deputy Mickey went
back. While he was there he was
sure he heard noise in the upper part
of the Jail and, going in and climb
ing partly up the stairs. he saw
Lurano crouched on top of the up
per tier of cells. Te was holding Il
large butcher knife in his hand.
At the dcputy's suggestion Lurano
hurriedly dropped the knife and
climbed down. He was taken below
and locked up. The deputy found
on top of the cells. beside the knife.
a loaf of bread and a bottle of water.
All of these things together with the
knife had been surreptitously passed
to him.
The only explanation of Lurano's
escape from the cell corridor is that
when the Chinaman who serves
meals to the prisoners came in the
afternoon, Lurano concealed himself
behind the toilet screen and was not
driven into the cells along with the
other prisoners. When the prisoners
are in their cells which are then
locked by a lever from the outside,
the Chinaman places the meal of
each in front OF his cell. He then
leaves the corridor and by means of
the lever, the cell doors are again
thrown open. Lurano probably slip
ped from behind the screen while
the Chinaman was busy distributing
the meals. the jailor having gone
below, and concealed himself i'm the
rear of the upper tier and when the
coast avs clear, took his place on top.
He could have had the knife for
only one purpose. 1t could not faci
litate a break through the roof In
fact since the escape of the Big
Swcde through the roof last spring
such precautions have been taken
that egress by that way is all but
impossible.
1t was no doubt the purpose of
Lurano to kill the jailor, or at least
to overcome him and in the position
he was that would have been a com
paratively simple thing to do. ON
account of the arrangement of the
Jail, one man can lock up at night
as safely alone as if he were accom-
panied by a regiment, and Deputy
Sheriff Wilson attends to that duty.
The locking up takes place at late
hour. The prisoners both above and
below are driven into their cells and
the doors fastened by the levers. The
jailor is not required for the purpose
of locking up to enter the corridor
at all or to come within reach of
any prisoner.
One of the levers in the upper tier
is directly under the spot where
Lurano was found. While the jailor
was in the act of manipulating this |
lever it would have been very easy
for Lurano to drop on him with the
knife and all would have been over
without any noise or cutlery that
would have been heard in the Of !
flee
The fact that he was holding the
knife in his hand when Deputy |
Sheriff Mickey stole upon him indi-
Gates that he had heard the officer |
open the door into the outer corri- |
dor below and was expecting the |
tailor to come to lock up for the |
night The supreme moment was
approaching and Lurano was ready. |