Escaped inmates back in custody

CLOVIS — Three inmates who escaped from the Clovis jail on Friday were captured Tuesday after a standoff with police at an apartment near Dennis Chavez Park.

Shots were fired, but the nearly three-hour standoff on Clovis’ west side ended at 6:09 p.m. with no injuries reported.

Witnesses reported hearing three shots fired about an hour before the inmates gave up.

Moments after the shots, police rushed at least three women into a police vehicle and they left the scene.

The women had been talking to the officers before the shots were heard. All three appeared distraught and were screaming and crying as they were led away.

It wasn’t immediately clear who the women were but witnesses said they knew the inmates.

Curry County Sheriff Wesley Waller said the shots were fired by Clovis police “after one of the occupants pointed a firearm at them.”

Waller said in the news release officials received “a tip” on Tuesday afternoon that all three inmates were in the apartment at 1210 Dartmouth St.

One occupant denied the men were inside, but “additional information was obtained which confirmed all three escapees (were inside),” the release said.

In addition to the inmates, the release said Jon Hausmann, 38, of Clovis, was also arrested, charged with three counts of harboring or aiding a felon.

The standoff began about 3:30 p.m.

The inmates — Victor Apodaca, Ricky Sena and Aaron Clark — walked away from the jail Friday morning with apparent help from a detention officer.

It wasn’t immediately clear how long the men had been in the apartment when they were captured Tuesday.

Early on Tuesday afternoon, Waller said Sarina Dodson remained the only person charged directly with helping the inmates escape.

But he said investigators were continuing to investigate the method of the escape and “possible accomplices.”

Before police located the inmates on Tuesday afternoon, Waller said there had been no confirmed sightings of the escapees and there had been no contact with law enforcement since the escape.

He said Dodson waived extradition from Lubbock on Tuesday morning and has been transported back to Curry County.

Police on Monday served a search warrant in the 1100 block of Rio Street that was “related to the investigation into the escape,” Waller said.

Three people were arrested, all on charges unrelated to the escape.

Managing Editor Kevin Wilson and Editor David Stevens contributed to this report.