A Texas fugitive who allegedly escaped from an inmate bus and killed five people last month got free with help from other prisoners who created a distraction for guards, a state senator revealed Tuesday.
Gonzalo Lopez, an inmate with a lengthy rap sheet who was serving a life sentence, was shot dead by cops outside San Antonio last Thursday — three weeks after he escaped a cage on the bus, stabbed a driver and went on the lam.
The Mexican cartel-linked fugitive had told other inmates “this is your opportunity” and the other passengers were aware of his escape plan on May 12, state Sen. John Whitmire told KXXV 25 News.
The 16 passengers onboard helped by “making a disturbance, singing and jumping up and down” to distract officers on board, Whitmire told the station.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice searching for escaped inmate Gonzalo Lopez. NBCDFW
Lopez stole a white Chevrolet Silverado from the crime scene. TDCJ/Twitter
Gonzalo Lopez was serving a life sentence before his escape. Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP
Lopez was killed in a police shootout last Thursday. APThat’s when the 46-year-old criminal, who had a key and knife on him, allegedly got out of his bonds and broke free of the cage. The key apparently worked on both the bonds and the cage, Whitmire said.
“Same key for both, I understand,” the state senator told News 25. The key hasn’t been recovered, the station added.
Now, some of the other inmates could be slapped with charges, News 25 reported.
Mark Collins was one of the people authorities believe was killed by Gonzalo Lopez. Family Photo/Courtesy of Houston Northwest Church via AP
From left to right: Carson Collins, Hudson Collins and Waylon Collins, who authorities believe were all killed by Gonzalo Lopez. Family Photo/Courtesy of Houston Northwest Church via AP
Bryson Collins, one of Mark Collins’ grandsons allegedly killed by Gonzalo Lopez. Family Photo/Courtesy of Houston Northwest Church via APLopez allegedly ran from the bus after his escape, but then got back in and drove it a short distance as corrections officers fired shots and disabled the vehicle, reports said. The fugitive then ran, and amateur cellphone video appeared to show him headed for the woods in the midst of his daring getaway.
“Lopez was the worst of the worse,” said Whitmire, adding “huge mistakes were made.”
The fugitive, who was reportedly a member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang, is believed to have killed 66-year-old Mark Collins and his four grandsons at a weekend cabin in rural Centerville last week. Lopez stole an AR-15-style rifle and a pickup truck from the family and met his end in a shootout more than 200 miles away, in Jourdanton, Texas.
TDCJ combing the woods for Lopez last week. NBCDFW
Gonzalo Lopez running away after crashing a transfer bus in Leon County. Braxton TiepermanThere is now a halt on Texas prisoner transports as the escape is probed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
In 2006, Lopez had been sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and killing a man with a pickax on the orders of associates linked to the La Mana drug cartel, according to KHOU-11. He was also charged in the 2004 shooting of a Webb County sheriff’s deputy, the station said.
