Some Texas inmates may face charges after reportedly helping convicted murderer Gonzalo Lopez escape from a prison bus on May 12.
While a fugitive, Lopez allegedly killed a man and his four grandsons. He later died in a shootout with law enforcement three weeks after his initial escape.
State Senator John Whitmire, appearing on the FOX 26 news show Behind Breaking Bond, told the hosts that “the other inmates knew what [Lopez] was fixing to do” before his escape.
Whitmire stated this information came from other inmates.
“When they got ready for the event, they started a disturbance,” he said. “They were singing, jumping up and down,” which distracted one of the armed guards enough for Lopez to break out of his confines.
Because he was designated a “high-risk” inmate, prison guards held Lopez in a secure cage inside the bus. Whitmire claimed Lopez had acquired a key that allowed him to get out of his restraints and exit the cage. Lopez allegedly stabbed the bus driver before exiting the bus and fleeing.
The escape occurred while the bus was traveling outside rural Centerville, Texas. A total of 16 other inmates were on the bus. Whitmire did not clarify how many of them may have helped Lopez escape.
Lopez managed to evade law enforcement for weeks, during which time he reportedly encountered rancher Mark Collins, 66, and his four grandsons: Waylon, 18; Carson, 16; Hudson, 11, and Bryson, 11.
Local police later found Collins and his grandsons stabbed to death when conducting a welfare check on June 2, per CBS News.
Authorities believe that Lopez used a neighboring cabin as a hideout, killed the five family members, and stole firearms and a truck from their property.
Before his escape and subsequent death, Lopez, a Mexican Mafia associate, was serving two life terms for capital murder, attempted capital murder, and aggravated kidnapping.