Post by Scumhunter on Sept 12, 2015 16:38:13 GMT -5
On March 24th, 2003, five inmates escaped from the Madera County Jail in Madera, California.
Authorities from the Madera County Corrections Department have said that the escape was planned, and a fight in a nearby module might have drawn the attention of a correctional officer providing an opportune time to execute the escape. The five escapees climbed a "daisy-chain" rope made of jail bedding, after they had cut a metal screen over an outdoor basketball court with a smuggled saw blade. They then moved along the roof to an exterior wall and slid down on another bedding rope. From there, detectives say that the men ran a short distance, scaled a wire fence and ran through a rural area and several of the men possibly sped away along Avenue 14 in a waiting car.
The case was aired on the May 3rd, 2003 episode of America's Most Wanted. Since the airing, only three remain at large (or as far as I can tell, are still at large at the time of posting (9/12/2015.) They are:
Alfredo Mendoza 22 at time of escape. Born 7/19/80 (Now 35 years old at time of posting)
Police say that Mendoza was arrested in April 2002 for armed robbery, carjacking and felony evading. Detectives say that on April 4, 2002, Mendoza approached a victim that was sleeping in his truck near Avenue 8 and Road 32 in Madera and knocked on the window, pointed a gun at the window and ordered the victim out of the truck. Mendoza then demanded the victims money, wallet and car keys and then stole the victim's Ford Mustang which was nearby. As police units responded to the victim's police report, an officer spotted the vehicle and attempted to make a stop. This resulted in a car chase at over 100 mph for approximately 20 miles until Mendoza lost control of the car and crashed into a field. Mendoza was found hiding in some bushes and his gun was found in the Mustang.
Jose Ramirez 25 at time of escape. Around mid-late 30's as of this posting.
Authorities say that Ramirez was arrested in October 2002 on the charges of attempted murder, mayhem, burglary, assault with a firearm, outside warrants and false imprisonment. Police say that on July 14, 2001, a victim awoke to find Ramirez and an accomplice in his bedroom. Ramirez was armed and the two suspects started kicking the victim in the face and demanding money. Police then say that Ramirez started to try and tie the victim up while saying "you know where you're going to end up right now, you're going to end up in the canal." The victim then started to fight back and Ramirez shot him.
Martin Sandoval 23 at time of escape. Around mid-late 30's as of this posting.
Police say Sandoval was in jail for the murder of a man whose body was found with massive blunt force head wounds in an almond orchard near the town of Chowchilla, CA on August 18, 2002. Sandoval was arrested a short distance from the crime scene after initial investigation tied him to the killing. Authorities say that a bloody carjack was found near the body with a large palm print of dried blood that was later matched by the DOJ to Sandoval.
Thoughts? This case was a full profile on AMW but surprisingly seemed to fall by the wayside. Since the first capture, Jesus Soto, was at his girlfriend's residence, it appears not all five escapees were together originally. Nathan Aguirre also was later captured by himself. A lot of times inmates will band together for their initial time on the run, and then eventually go their separate ways. But the fact that these guys seemed to scatter about is probably what has made it more difficult to capture them. I think it's a safe bet at least one (if not all) of three made it to be Mexico by now.
Admin Note #1: Based on escape location, our advice for anyone with information on Mendoza, Ramirez, or Sandoval's whereabouts would be to call the Madera County Sheriff's Office at (559) 675-7770
Admin Note #2: If you have any other updates, feel free to use our contact form: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form
web.archive.org/web/20040210085002/http://www2.amw.com/site/thisweek/M/MendozaAlfredo/mendozaindex.html
web.archive.org/web/20040210075106/http://www2.amw.com/site/thisweek/R/RamirezJose/ramirezindex.html
web.archive.org/web/20040409172307/http://www2.amw.com/site/thisweek/S/SandovalMartin/sandovalindex.html
Authorities from the Madera County Corrections Department have said that the escape was planned, and a fight in a nearby module might have drawn the attention of a correctional officer providing an opportune time to execute the escape. The five escapees climbed a "daisy-chain" rope made of jail bedding, after they had cut a metal screen over an outdoor basketball court with a smuggled saw blade. They then moved along the roof to an exterior wall and slid down on another bedding rope. From there, detectives say that the men ran a short distance, scaled a wire fence and ran through a rural area and several of the men possibly sped away along Avenue 14 in a waiting car.
The case was aired on the May 3rd, 2003 episode of America's Most Wanted. Since the airing, only three remain at large (or as far as I can tell, are still at large at the time of posting (9/12/2015.) They are:
Alfredo Mendoza 22 at time of escape. Born 7/19/80 (Now 35 years old at time of posting)
Police say that Mendoza was arrested in April 2002 for armed robbery, carjacking and felony evading. Detectives say that on April 4, 2002, Mendoza approached a victim that was sleeping in his truck near Avenue 8 and Road 32 in Madera and knocked on the window, pointed a gun at the window and ordered the victim out of the truck. Mendoza then demanded the victims money, wallet and car keys and then stole the victim's Ford Mustang which was nearby. As police units responded to the victim's police report, an officer spotted the vehicle and attempted to make a stop. This resulted in a car chase at over 100 mph for approximately 20 miles until Mendoza lost control of the car and crashed into a field. Mendoza was found hiding in some bushes and his gun was found in the Mustang.
Jose Ramirez 25 at time of escape. Around mid-late 30's as of this posting.
Authorities say that Ramirez was arrested in October 2002 on the charges of attempted murder, mayhem, burglary, assault with a firearm, outside warrants and false imprisonment. Police say that on July 14, 2001, a victim awoke to find Ramirez and an accomplice in his bedroom. Ramirez was armed and the two suspects started kicking the victim in the face and demanding money. Police then say that Ramirez started to try and tie the victim up while saying "you know where you're going to end up right now, you're going to end up in the canal." The victim then started to fight back and Ramirez shot him.
Martin Sandoval 23 at time of escape. Around mid-late 30's as of this posting.
Police say Sandoval was in jail for the murder of a man whose body was found with massive blunt force head wounds in an almond orchard near the town of Chowchilla, CA on August 18, 2002. Sandoval was arrested a short distance from the crime scene after initial investigation tied him to the killing. Authorities say that a bloody carjack was found near the body with a large palm print of dried blood that was later matched by the DOJ to Sandoval.
Thoughts? This case was a full profile on AMW but surprisingly seemed to fall by the wayside. Since the first capture, Jesus Soto, was at his girlfriend's residence, it appears not all five escapees were together originally. Nathan Aguirre also was later captured by himself. A lot of times inmates will band together for their initial time on the run, and then eventually go their separate ways. But the fact that these guys seemed to scatter about is probably what has made it more difficult to capture them. I think it's a safe bet at least one (if not all) of three made it to be Mexico by now.
Admin Note #1: Based on escape location, our advice for anyone with information on Mendoza, Ramirez, or Sandoval's whereabouts would be to call the Madera County Sheriff's Office at (559) 675-7770
Admin Note #2: If you have any other updates, feel free to use our contact form: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form
web.archive.org/web/20040210085002/http://www2.amw.com/site/thisweek/M/MendozaAlfredo/mendozaindex.html
web.archive.org/web/20040210075106/http://www2.amw.com/site/thisweek/R/RamirezJose/ramirezindex.html
web.archive.org/web/20040409172307/http://www2.amw.com/site/thisweek/S/SandovalMartin/sandovalindex.html