Sixth Clovis jail escapee caught, two still at large

Escapee Michael England was captured in Clovis around 11:30 a.m. Monday morning.

Curry County Undersheriff Wesley Waller said England was caught without incident in the 500 block of Pile Street.

Acting on a tip, Clovis police responded to an apartment complex where they found England hiding behind a bed, a press release said.

England, 29, is the sixth escaped inmate to be captured from the Aug. 24 escape of eight men from the Curry County Adult Detention Center.
The inmates climbed water pipes and cut a hole in the roof, police said.

England was being held at the jail on a charge of tampering with evidence in connection with a 2007 homicide.

His capture comes nine days after his childhood friend Larry McClendon was apprehended Oct. 4 in Amarillo. Law enforcement have said they believe the two fled the jail together. McClendon is charged with murder in the 2007 homicide.

Last week, England contacted authorities and attempted to negotiate a surrender.

He said he would turn himself in if charges were dropped against his mother and if two drug trafficking charges against his brother were dismissed and money seized by police during his brother’s arrest returned to his family.

District Attorney Matt Chandler said Friday his office would not negotiate with England.

Edward Salas, 21, and Louis Chavez, 18, remain at large.

Salas is a convicted murderer and was sentenced to life in prison for the 2005 shooting of a 10-year-old Clovis boy.

Chavez was in jail on charges of aggravated burglary, larceny, criminal damage to property, receiving or disposing of stolen property, tampering with evidence and extreme cruelty to animals.

Three additional people — Asha Curry, 27, Robin Kirven, 37, and Samantha Wallace, 19 — were arrested Monday at the Pile Street apartment, charged with harboring and aiding a fugitive, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

They are each being held on $5,000 bonds.