Three Nacogdoches County inmates walk

Manhunt continues for men who left through unsecured door

NACOGDOCHES — Sheriff Thomas Kerss called off the dogs Tuesday evening after an exhausting all-day search for three inmates who escaped the Nacogdoches County jail yielded only dead ends. Authorities began a manhunt around 10 a.m. Tuesday for the three men who left through an unsecured back door sometime late Monday or early Tuesday morning.

"It doesn't really make much sense to continue today's door-to-door type search efforts, so we will change our tactics a little bit," Kerss said late Tuesday. "We're not going to call it quits until we get them back into custody," he said.

Various agencies, including Nacogdoches Police Department, Texas Rangers, local FBI and law enforcement from nearby counties combed the neighborhoods surrounding the jail, looking for leads before teams of tracking dogs from three different state prisons arrived in the afternoon.

Kerss said the escaped inmates, Antonio Martinez, 20, of Nacogdoches; Jose Guillermo Portillo, 32, of Russellville, Ark.; and Marcuese Eugene Tyler, 24, of Lufkin; should be considered dangerous.

"I think all these guys are dangerous. Obviously, they want to remain out of custody. At least one has a violent past," said Kerss. "The fact that the individual may use further violence to help continue to fuel his escape efforts is foreseeable, and I think the public needs to consider them dangerous."

According to Kerss, the three men, who had been housed in a maximum security dormitory, escaped into an outdoor recreation yard and scaled three fences before entering the community. Kerss could not confirm that the suspects had been accounted for during Tuesday's 6 a.m. head count, though he said the inmates were probably at breakfast, usually served around 6:30 a.m.

Authorities fielded questions and tips from citizens all day Tuesday. Officials alerted nearby police agencies and sheriffs' offices, as well as bus depots, railroads, and taxi companies of the incident, and provided physical descriptions of the suspects, noting that the escapees were probably wearing jail-issued orange clothing.

Portillo was described as Hispanic, 5'9" and weighing 156 pounds. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Martinez was charged with three counts of intoxicated manslaughter and two charges of racing causing serious bodily harm. He was scheduled to stand trial Feb. 11, 2008 for a street-racing incident in which three people died on North Street last November. He is 5'11" and weighs 180 pounds with a scar on his lip, a goatee and mustache as well as tattoos on his arms, legs and back.

Tyler was in jail on three charges for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, evading arrest and probation violations. He is a black male with facial hair and tattoos, standing at 5'8" and weighing 180 pounds. All three suspects were awaiting trial when they escaped.

By the end of the day Tuesday, Kerss said he believed the three suspects had somehow gotten rides out of town, as the scent bloodhounds had been tracking stopped cold on a residential street about a mile and a half east of the jail.

"We do believe at this time the individuals probably caught a ride at that location from someone," he said. "We're still pursuing other leads, but that's really what we have to go on at the moment."

It is unknown whether the suspects are traveling together, but Kerss said he considered it a possibility that the two Hispanic suspects were heading to Mexico.

Authorities continue to interview cell mates, family members and acquaintances of the escapees to glean as much information as possible.

The jail has recently been plagued with maintenance issues, and Kerss said the locks and doors have been no exception to that trend. He said a Denver-based company, Integrity Steel, visited the jail Monday to perform a full inspection of the locks and submit a price quote for future work there. In an ironic twist, the Denver consultants advised that the back door through which the inmates escaped Tuesday was malfunctioning Monday in such a way that it was impossible to open at all. Kerss said sometime after the consultants left that cell block, the electronic solenoid controlling the door cycled, and the door become impossible to lock. Kerss added that an indicator designed to alert jail staff that doors are unlocked was not working.

Inmates apparently became aware of the malfunction during the night, leaving some time for planning a successful exit.

"I'm not saying it was a very sophisticated and drawn out plan, but I certainly think they did have an opportunity to recognize that the lock was unsecured and make some hasty plans on how they would try to avoid detection leaving the facility, and then maybe even try to arrange transportation once they got out," said Kerss.

The escapees are no strangers to being in trouble with the law. According to police reports, Martinez, who was driving a 1998 Ford Mustang, was racing a 1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse driven by Shaun Gilmore, 22, of Nacogdoches, on North Street, when a Chevrolet Cavalier, driven by Kenneth Thompson, 20, of Olmito pulled onto the street. The Eclipse swerved to miss the Cavalier, hitting a curb and disabling the vehicle, but the Martinez' Mustang crashed into the Cavalier. Kenneth Riehl II, 26, of Lufkin, a passenger in the Cavalier, was pronounced dead at the scene. Thompson and Jose Tamez, 18, of Lufkin, a passenger in the Mustang, died later at a Nacogdoches hospital.

Martinez, who was injured in the accident, was released from Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital the following day and went missing for three months, before turning himself into Nacogdoches police. Gilmore was not injured and was arrested at the scene. If convicted, both Martinez and Gilmore could face 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

In the meantime, the jail remains in a semi-locked down state, with normal activities such as church services, education programs, inmate work crews and visitation suspended. Transportation to court appointments for inmates and their scheduled releases will occur as usual, but attorney visitation is only possible "on a select basis," according to Kerss.

As a result of the jail break, Nacogdoches ISD administrators suspended outdoor activities at Brooks-Quinn-Jones and T.J. Rusk elementary schools Monday. Some concerned residents said they needed to check on family members and friends after hearing the initial reports of the men's escape.

The sheriff himself expressed dismay over the incident.

"It's hard for us to know and accept the fact that they're out," he said. "The only thing I can say at this point is we're going to make our best efforts to try and get them back into custody as quickly as we can."