El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-01-09
FOUR SAW JAIL
PLATE;ESCAPE
Fifth County Prisoner Is
Caught; Fugitives Slide
Down Blanket Rope.

Sheriff Seth B. Orndorff was re
lieved Of the necessity Of caring for
four Of his prisoners about midnight
Tuesday when the quatrain succeeded
in effecting their escape from Ell Psso
county's $4,000 roof garden jai:.
guaranteed by the builders as man
proof the escape following what
seemed to have been the painstaking
work of at least a week.
-Four men-JuliO Lugo. held on
charge of murder in connection with
the death Of Tom Caro- at the Faro
club and awaiting trial Monday: N.
Horcasitas and Louis Arellane. await
ing transfer to the state peuitentiary
to serve two year burglary terms. and
J. Flores, serving a four month SEN
tence for alleged theft-succeeded in
entirely effectlnE a getaway; while a
fifth. 2. Espendola. was caught as he
reached the ground. he being the last
to Slide down the blanket rope from
the fifth floor Of the big courthouse
Waterman Catches Fifth.
Florencio Ruiz. night Waterman for
contractor J. E. Morgan. saw the fifth
man getting away and caught him
Ruiz had no gun, but clasped his arms
around his man and paraded him TO
the police station. whence he was
delivered to sheriff.
Saws and blankets-the old story,
all the details of which have not yet
been mastered by even LeavenWOrth
and Sing Sing jaflers-were the means
Of escape. The first step in the care
fully worked out route to freedom was
under the bunk in cell No. II on the
west row Of tiers on the third floor
of the jail proper. A large hole. about
u by is inches, was sawed through
a solid steel plate wall at this point
When this work was started IS not
known. but il must have been COM
pleted Tuesday evening.
Hide in s'PIumbers' Run
This hole gave opening to a
plumbers run" and it appears that
some Of the five men who were in the
plot had apparently entered this pass
age when the cells were closed for the
night. for no more than two men were
seen in cell No. II.
The route was then simple FOR
time. The men slid down water
the first floor of the Jail. Behind this
run were the cells combining Felix r
Jones. held in connection with the
Tom Lyons killing. and William g.
Russell, held in the Charles Qualey
case.
NlUN OF r llEM EAnEg ~ AhuOns
Reaching the run on the first floor
Of the Jail and the fifth floor OF the
big courthouse building the prisoners
walked southwark to the end of the
run A door at this point was not
locked and the men were then at an
outside window.
THE rest Of the work was even more
simple. just a matter OF saving two
iron bars, tying up blankets and slid
ing down. This was effected in time
by four OF the men the fifth suffer
ing capture. as related
Escape Death Narrowly.
While the men might not have
known It, each who slid down the rope
was in danger Of his life. for the
blanket second from the top was so
badly torn that 1t required only about
four inches more Of tearing for IL 70
separate from the rope. This would
have meant death for the men. for
five floors below were piles OF brick.
structural steel and other materials
used in building the courthouse an.
mex
Careful search by jailers and sher-
if Orndorff revealed the saws used
Wednesday morning IN cell No; II
There were two Of the hack variety
One was about "A inches long, while
the other was piece, about six inches
long and fastened by wire TO a piece
OF wood. Deputies also gathered I'D
what appeared to them to be a chem
ical powder used on the steel
It seemed, too. that a diamond drill
must have been used to start the
work Of cutting the plate. but none
had been found
The opinion was expressed in the
sheriffs office that the saws must
have been delivered to the prisoners
in bread brought them by friends