Search continues for Texas fugitives

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Posted 7:26AM on Thursday, January 31, 2002

MONTAGUE, TEXAS - A jailbreak by four inmates who overpowered a guard with a homemade knife has raised questions about overcrowding and security in Texas jails, which saw more than 140 escapes last year. Authorities continued their search Wednesday for two convicted killers and two murder suspects who drove off in the guard's sport utility vehicle after Monday's escape. Two had been serving life sentences for killing an Oklahoma high school cheerleader. The other two had been awaiting trial on charges of murdering an elderly couple. The fugitives were identified as Curtis Gambill of Terral, Okla.; Joshua Bagwell of Waurika, Okla.; Chrystal Gale Soto, 22, and Charles Jordan, 30, both of Bowie, Texas. Officers from several law enforcement agencies were sent out to check on leads. Because two of the escapees were from Oklahoma, attention was focused on rural areas along the Red River. Authorities also alerted witnesses and relatives of the murder victims to be on the lookout for the four, and contacted relatives and friends of the fugitives in Oklahoma, Missouri, Oregon and Alaska. Gambill and Bagwell were serving life sentences for the 1996 murder of a 16-year-old Oklahoma cheerleader. Soto and Jordan were arrested in November and charged with killing an elderly Texas couple on whose land they had been living. Law enforcement officials and victims advocacy groups said better salaries and better training for guards would help prevent future escapes. They said criminals are becoming more brazen after seeing so many successful escapes. Texas jail guards are often poorly paid, making less than $25,000 a year, and they are often not adequately trained to deal with seasoned criminals, according to the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas. ``The jailer training is not adequate for dangerous inmates in smaller jails,'' said Irma Forrester, a former jailer who was held hostage in her home in October by two escapees she had never met. The Montague County Jail, where the latest escape took place, had been ``decertified,'' or put on warning, in October for exceeding state regulations that require one guard for every 48 inmates. On Monday, the day of the escape, the jail had 55 prisoners and one guard. That same day, officials transferred eight inmates out to meet regulations. Bagwell and Gambill had been transported to Montague jail earlier this month so Gambill could be tried on another charge related to the cheerleader case. Gambill was given a second life sentence in the case. After the trial, Montague County Jail officials, following state procedures, called the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to set up appointments to return the two men to prison. The county called Jan. 17 about Bagwell and was scheduled to return him Jan. 30. The county called Sunday about Gambill and was scheduled to return him Feb. 7, according to Larry Fitzgerald, a department spokesman. Montague County Sheriff Chris Hamilton did not return calls seeking comment about why there was a two-week span between the initial calls and the transfer dates.