Newly released footage shows Damian Herrera, a former New Mexico college student accused of killing five people in a shooting spree, trying to escape prison by locking a security guard in his cell.
The security camera footage shows Herrera attempting to escape prison for the second time after he allegedly shot five people in Rio Arriba, New Mexico.
Herrera, the 21-year-old former college student, can be seen on camera locking one guard in his cell and then using a flashlight to attack another.
via KOAT:
“He told one of the guards that was on duty that his toilet wasn’t working. So the guard went ahead to open the door to check the toilet. When he went in to check the toilet, Mr. Herrera locked him into the cell,” Rio Arriba County Sheriff James Lujan said.
Herrera then immediately goes to the guard station and grabs a large flashlight from under the desk. He hears another guard coming and hides behind a wall.
“As the guard passed the corner of the wall, he struck him with a flashlight, and then a fight ensued. So they had a wrestling match going on in the booking area,” Lujan said.
The guard tried to stun Herrera with a Taser, but it didn’t work. More guards sprinted in to help and eventually got control of him. They strapped Herrera’s ankles and wrists into a chair but he still tried to break free of the straps.
According to Sheriff Lujan, jail employees did their jobs by keeping Herrera in the jail, but also believes a different facility would suit him better:
“I think it would be better for all of our detention facility personnel for the public up in Tierra Amarilla, and the county of Rio Arriba if we went ahead and had him transferred out,” Lujan said.
Furthermore, Lujan says Herrera could be moved to the Santa Fe-based state prison this week.
Herrera has been charged with the five murders, however, it has been determined that he’s unfit to stand trial.
This story is developing. Please refresh for updates.
