A Curry County jail inmate who escaped early Sunday morning was back in custody Sunday night, officials said.
Narcizo Soto Jr., 35, was found hiding in the attic of a residence in the 1300 block of Hinkle Street in Clovis, Undersheriff Wesley Waller said. He was captured about 7:45 p.m., without incident, by sheriff's deputies and Clovis police officers, Waller said
Interim jail administrator Tori Sandoval said Soto was immediately placed in an isolation cell when he was returned to the jail by law officers.
Soto was stripping floors with two other inmates in administrative offices when he escaped at 1:23 a.m. "It is my understanding that a detention officer was supervising the three inmates, but became distracted prior to the escape," Waller said.
Waller said Soto, described as "dangerous" in a news release, escaped from the jail by exiting a door normally accessible only to administration and staff.
Sandoval said a jail official watching a surveillance camera saw the inmate escape and that Clovis police were notified "in less than a minute."
Soto was being held on charges of aggravated battery, aggravated assault, assault on a household member and a federal probation violation related to a narcotics conviction, Waller said.
Assistant County Manager Connie Harrison said county officials on Sunday were conducting an "administrative investigation" into the incident. She said no injuries were reported as a result of the escape, but declined to provide additional information until the investigation is complete. Sandoval and Harrison said they expected more information would be available on Monday afternoon.
Harrison said the jail was locked down following the escape, but that was lifted for visitation on Sunday afternoon.
Waller said the sheriff's office, Clovis police and New Mexico State Police were all involved in the hunt for Soto.
Soto was arrested in June after eluding police for more than three months.
He is accused of shooting at his girlfriend's car while her child was in it on Feb. 26.
He was being held without bond on a warrant from U.S. marshals, jail officials said in June.
The girlfriend told police she was standing outside her vehicle in the 400 block of Hickory Street and her 8-year-old child was in the passenger seat. She said Soto pulled up beside her and fired two rounds into the driver's side of her car and drove away.
The child was not injured.
In June, Soto was arrested without incident at a Clovis hotel, where he'd been staying with the girlfriend, police said.
Sunday's escape was the fifth reported at the Curry County jail since 2002. The most notable occurred Aug. 24, 2008. That's when eight inmates, described by officials as violent, escaped from the jail by climbing through the roof. Convicted child killer Edward Salas remains at large.
Multiple other problems have also plagued the jail in recent years, including attempted escapes, mistaken releases and inmates failing to return from medical furloughs.
Curry County Commission Chairman Caleb Chandler expressed frustration at the latest incident.
"I think like everybody else in the county I'm wondering when we're going to see some degree of competency at the jail. I think that's a question county administration is going to have to address," he said.
Officials have cited poor construction of the facility, limitations in organizing inmates within the facility and overcrowding as ongoing reasons for the jail's problems.
Last November, county commissioners presented voters with two bond questions aimed at increasing gross receipts and property taxes to build a new jail and courthouse.
Voters overwhelmingly rejected the bond issues with a near 73 percent vote against both.
The jail has also been through 10 administrators in five years. Sandoval was named interim administrator in September after Keith Norwood resigned following 15 months on the job.
Norwood said his resignation was voluntary and he was not asked by county officials to leave the post. The resignation came just a day after county commissioners met in a closed session to discuss personnel, the details of which they declined to discuss.
Recent escapes from Curry County Detention Center prior to Sunday:
Aug. 24, 2008: Eight inmates, described by officials as violent, escaped from the jail by climbing through the roof. Using a stolen key, the men accessed a plumbing shaft where they climbed pipes and cut a hole in the roof with makeshift tools. Seven escapees were recaptured Convicted child killer Edward Salas remains at large.
July 15, 2008: Angelica Madrid, 33, hid behind a food cart and was able to reach the street. She was knocked down by a passing vehicle as she darted across Main Street while being chased by detention center officers. She was free only for about 30 seconds.
Dec. 23. 2006: Inmate Guadalupe Rodriguez stuffed his bed and escaped from the jail out a back door and law enforcement was not notified for two days. He was captured five days later in Dimmitt, Texas.
Dec. 15, 2002: Inmate Daniel Fallis escaped the CCADC when he broke through sheetrock in the bathroom ceiling in the booking area, crawled into the detention officer's locker room and sprayed detention officers with a fire extinguisher then ran out the back door. He was caught a few blocks away.
Copyright 2011 - Clovis News Journal, N.M.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
