Jailed Killer Overpowers Prison Guard, Escapes
A convicted killer overpowered a correctional officer and escaped from a state penitentiary in Abilene.
John William Roland, 33, took Sgt. Wesley Hurt’s uniform, handcuffed and beat him before escaping in Hurt’s pickup truck about 4:45 a.m., said Larry Todd, spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He said there was no weapon in the truck.
Hurt was treated for cuts and bruises. He told investigators Roland had threatened to kill him.
Roland was serving a life sentence for fatally shooting a former roommate. He had been in prison since May 1993.
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