Luxor Casino Bomber Escaped Days Before Prison Guards Discovered Him Missing
Posted on: September 28, 2022, 12:59h.
Last updated on: September 28, 2022, 12:59h.
There was a four-day delay before guards realized on Tuesday a Luxor casino convicted murderer had escaped from a Nevada prison. Porfirio Duarte-Herrera remains on the loose and should be considered “dangerous,” corrections officials warned.
It was not until Tuesday morning that guards even realized he was missing. Then on Tuesday evening the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) revealed that Duarte-Herrera actually escaped Friday evening from the Southern Desert Correctional Center located in Indian Springs, Nev.
Initial NDOC statements suggested he had fled from the prison sometime before 7 am Tuesday. At 1 pm Tuesday, officials announced he was on the loose. No details were released by prison officials how the inmate left the secure facility.
It was also revealed that it appears Duarte-Herrera, 42, left some kind of cardboard dummy in his prison cell on Friday to mislead guards, KLAS, a local TV station, reported.
He was incarcerated in the prison since 2010 with no chance for parole. He was convicted that year for the 2007 fatal bombing at the Luxor casino located on the Las Vegas Strip.
Governor Demands Accountability
News of the escape and the reporting delay raised the ire of Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak.
“This is unacceptable,” Sisolak said in a statement released late on Tuesday. He ordered the NDOC to undertake an investigation into the escape “as quickly as possible.
This kind of security lapse cannot be permitted and those responsible will be held accountable,” Sisolak added.
The prison is about 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Some residents who live about 10 miles from Southern Desert appeared concerned.
“There’s so many kids around here that just run around and play. There’s so many empty trailers,” resident William Tilghmen told KLAS.
There’s really no police presence out here so it’s a perfect place for him to hide out however long he wants.”
Both the US Marshal’s Service and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department remain on the watch for the missing inmate, according to news reports. Duarte-Herrera is 5-feet, 4-inches tall, weighs 135 pounds, has brown eyes and brown hair.
Pipe Bomb Murder Plot
In 2010, Duarte-Herrera and a second defendant, Omar Rueda-Denvers, were convicted for the death of Willebaldo Dorantes Antonio. He was killed after a pipe bomb exploded on the Luxor Hotel & Casino’s parking garage roof.
At the conclusion of their trial, Duarte-Herrera and Rueda-Denvers were both found guilty of murder with use of a deadly weapon and attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon.
The bomb was hidden in a coffee cup that was placed on top of the victim’s car, the Las Vegas Sun said. The bomb had a motion-activated trigger which went into effect when Dorantes Antonio picked up the cup, authorities revealed. He was unaware the explosive device was inside.
Dorantes Antonio’s right hand was seriously injured from the explosion. A piece of metal also got lodged in his head, the Sun reported.
Dorantes Antonio’s then-girlfriend, Caren Chali, was not hurt in the explosion. She was near the car at the time.
Chali was Rueda-Denvers’ former girlfriend. The two had a daughter together, reports said.
Rueda-Denvers was jealous of the new relationship between her and Dorantes Antonio, prosecutors revealed during the trial.
Initially, prosecutors tried to get the death penalty for the two defendants. But both got life sentences without any chance of parole.
In 2019, a federal judge granted Rueda-Denvers a new trial because of improper court procedures. In a retrial last year, he was convicted of murder, attempted murder and other charges.
Related News Articles
Source: casino.org
