The Region : Family’s Alleged Jailbreak Plot Foiled

An apparent attempt by the wife and stepson of an accused murderer-kidnaper to help him break out of Orange County Jail was headed off when sheriff’s deputies arrested the woman and 16-year-old boy, deputies said. Officers said they seized a .38-caliber handgun, 50 rounds of ammunition, two Taser guns, a hacksaw, metal-cutting shears, tire irons and a metal punch. Also seized were $5,000 in cash with which Linda Kipp, 37, allegedly intended to help Martin James Kipp, 29, flee to Canada. The wife reportedly gave $500 to an undercover officer she believed was helping plan the escape. Under the plan, the boy allegedly was to crawl through the ventilation system from a first-floor public restroom to his stepfather’s cell on the fourth floor of the jail. An investigator said it would have been impossible because of the youth’s size. The Kipps met about two years ago, after Martin Kipp had been arrested, deputies said. Linda Kipp is a paralegal with an Orange law firm.