Record: Inmate called accomplice from jail day before escape

CLOVIS — A man accused of hiding escaped inmates was told about last Friday’s escape from the Clovis jail before it occurred, according to court records filed Thursday in Curry County Magistrate Court.

Aaron Clark, one of three county inmates who walked away from an outdoor recreation area with the alleged help of a corrections officer, “called (Jon) Hausmann and told him about the escape, prior to it happening,” according to the criminal complaint filed Thursday against Hausmann.

Curry County Sheriff Wesley Waller said Thursday that Clark “used coded verbiage” during the phone call to Hausmann, “indicating he would be out soon.”

Waller said the phone conversation occurred the day prior to the escape.

The criminal complaint against Hausmann also provides some details leading up to the inmates’ capture late Tuesday afternoon:

• Hausmann was seen by police leaving a residence at 1210 Dartmouth St. on Tuesday, soon after an anonymous tip was reported to police that the three inmates were inside the residence.

• Hausmann told authorities the inmates were not in the residence and denied consent to search the place.

• About the same time police converged on the escapees, Victor Apodaca and Clark “made phone calls to family members and said that they were surrounded and that there was going to be a shootout.”

Officials have said one of the inmates “displayed a gun,” which prompted police to fire two or three shots at the residence. However, no one was injured in the standoff that lasted more than three hours.

Lari Clark, the mother of Aaron, said she was on the phone with her son when police surrounded the apartment. She said “it is a lie” that her son was planning a shootout.

“He called me at 3:15 on Tuesday,” she said. “He specifically stated that he was not ready to go down in a blaze of glory. That’s not what he was looking for.”

Lari Clark said her son called to “apologize to me. ... He knows I don’t agree with his choices and he just called to tell me that he was sorry I was having to go through this.”

All three inmates — Clark, Apodaca and Ricky Sena — plus Hausmann and Detention Officer Sarina Dodson remained in the Clovis jail on Thursday without bond.

Curry County Adult Detention Center Administrator Mark Gallegos said Thursday he was not aware of any phone call between Clark and Hausmann before the escape, but said all calls to and from inmates are recorded.

Gallegos said inmate calls can be monitored, but are not routinely monitored.

Waller said via email: “The investigators are still analyzing a considerable amount of electronic evidence, attempting to determine movements and any assistance provided to the escapees.”

Lari Clark said she talked with her son the Wednesday before the escape and he gave her no indication of plans to escape.

“All we talked about was his son’s birthday coming up July Fifth,” she said.