Sightings reported in Texas manhunt

Gang leader is thought to be George Rivas (top row, second right)

Police conducting the biggest manhunt in the history of Texas are following up sightings of a vicious gang that escaped jail four weeks ago.

The armed escapees - who include convicted killers, a serial rapist and a child molester - killed a policeman during a robbery after they broke out of prison.

The gang left a note in jail warning that Texas had not heard the last of them. They are believed to have assembled a fearsome arsenal of more than 40 firearms including semi-automatic handguns, shotguns and rifles.

Texan officials say the search has spread across the southwest of the US although it is still concentrated on Dallas, Texas.

These people are very cunning, they're very street smart

Larry Todd
Texas Department of Criminal Justice

They are convinced that someone is helping the gang to hide and there has been speculation they are using stolen police scanners to evade the law.

The convicts broke out of Connally prison near Kenedy on 13 December by stealing clothing from staff members and bluffing their way to the rear gate.

Reward

The gang is are believed to be responsible for the killing of policeman Aubrey Hawkins who was shot 11 times and run over during a robbery on Christmas Eve in the Dallas suburb of Irving.

Two of the escapees are thought to have been shot during the robbery at Oshman's Super Sports store which netted the gang numerous guns as well as ammunition, winter clothes and $70,000 in cash and cheques.

There is a $100,000 reward per escapee for information leading to their capture.

There were unconfirmed sightings of members of the gang in four states as well as a report that two of the fugitives were spotted trying to open an account on Thursday at a bank in San Marcos, south of Austin, Texas.

"It is our belief at this point and time, based on witness identification of two sets of photos, that we have an accurate sighting," said San Marcos police chief Stephen Griffith.

"We've had reports that they have been seen in Durango, Colorado, southern Oklahoma, and Louisiana, all at the same time," said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Larry Todd.

"These people are very cunning, they're very street smart," he said.

"We have to exercise a lot of patience. After all, these inmates are being patient."

Though it is rare for a prison escape search to last this long, he predicted the men would be hunted down.

Search for the seven

13 Dec - Gang escapes from prison in Kenedy, Texas

15 Dec - Escapees steal police scanners in Radio Shack robbery

24 Dec - Policeman shot six times in head during sports store robbery

4 Jan - Two escapees sighted in bank in San Marcos, Texas

"We eventually will get them back," he said. "Our worst fear is that this will end in bloodshed, and that's what we do not want to happen."

Investigators chasing the group said, despite receiving 1,200 leads since the jailbreak, they had no hard evidence that the seven left the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

"There are certain assumptions we have to go on, concentrating the search efforts in the DFW metroplex and north-central Texas in general and then spreading out from there," said Irving police spokesman David Tull.

Police said the seven were reminiscent of Depression-era robber gangs, bound together by tight discipline under one leader.

'Showdown' plans

This has led to suspicions they may be planning a showdown.

"It leads everyone to think these guys have a plan," said FBI spokeswoman Lori Bailey.

The gang leader may be George Rivas, 30, who was serving a life sentence for kidnapping and robbery, police have said. He is described as having an "unusual degree of interest, creativity and intensity" in crime.

The other members of the gang are Joseph Garcia, Donald Newbury, Larry Harper, Patrick Murphy, Jr, Randy Halprin and Michael Rodriguez.

Police believe the seven were being hidden by the same unidentified helpers who aided their escape.