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| Prison officers critically hurt in failed escape |
| By Houston Chronicle |
| Published: 06/02/2004 |
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Two prison officers and an inmate were seriously injured Tuesday after an attack by two convicted murderers in a failed escape attempt from the Eastham Unit in Lovelady, Texas, prison officials said. Correctional officers James D. Baker and Michael A. Mowry both suffered severe head trauma and were airlifted to area hospitals. Baker, 55, was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he was undergoing surgery. Mowry, 46, was taken to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler. Both men were in critical condition, said Assistant Warden Frankie Reescano. Two inmates, including one convicted in a Houston murder-for-hire, were being questioned in connection with the assaults, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. They were identified as Dalton David Collins and Raymond Tyson Wingfield. Criminal Justice Department officials said the incident began about 3:45 a.m. Tuesday when Collins struck Mowry with a pipe fitting wrapped in an apron. Mowry, a food service manager, was working in the kitchen commissary at the time. Dalton stripped Mowry, tied him up and took his keys, state ID and uniform, officials said. Another inmate working in the kitchen, Robert Michael Purtell, attempted to help Mowry and was struck in the head with the makeshift weapon. Purtell, 45, was transported to East Texas Medical Center in Trinity. As Collins and Wingfield were leaving the kitchen, officials said, they confronted Baker. Baker was struck in the head with the pipe fitting, stripped of his uniform and tied up. His keys and state ID also were taken. Collins and Wingfield proceeded to the bakery, officials said, where they began tying milk crates together to form a ladder. Prison system spokesman Mike Viesca said the men planned to use the ladder to get over the perimeter fence, but their plot was thwarted before they left the bakery when another commissary worker managed to call for help. Officers restrained Collins and Wingfield and placed them in pre-hearing detention while the Criminal Justice Department's Office of Inspector General investigates. |
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