Texas 7
The Texas 7 were a group of criminals whom escaped from the John Connally Unit in Kenedy, Texas.The group was composed of the following criminals:
- Joseph C. Garcia
- Randy Ethan Halprin
- Larry James Harper
- Donald Keith Newbury
- Patrick Henry Murphy, Jr
- George Rivas (Ringleader)
- Michael Anthony Rodriguez
On December 19, four of the members checked into an Econo Lodge motel under assumed names. They would plot out which target to hit next.
They later decided to rob an Oshman's sports store in Irving, Texas. On December 24, 2000, which was Christmas Eve, they held up the store and stole a lot of weapons. Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins came to the scene, but was shot dead. A $100,000 reward has been offered to whomever could snare the group of criminals. The reward would climb to $500,000 before the endgame happened.
Wayne Holder, the owner of an RV Park in Woodland Park, Colorado, happened to watch America's Most Wanted on January 20, 2001. He found that the Texas 7, whom were being compared to Angel Maturino Resendiz, were in his trailer park. When he confirmed this, he reported the suspicious activities the next day on January 21. SWAT Teams found three of the members, Garcia, Rodriguez, and Rivas, in a Jeep Cherokee. They then found Halprin and Harper in an RV. Halprin was arrested, but Harper committed suicide. The surviving four members found so far had been arrested.
On January 23, they recieved information about the whereabouts of the last two. They were hiding out in a Holiday Inn in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The two, Newbury and Murphy, made some live radio broadcasts before they were arrested.
They later found out that a woman named Patsy Gomez conspired with a man named Raul Rodriguez to help the Texas 7.
George Rivas had been sentenced to death after being extradited to Texas.
External Links
