Manhunt underway for escaped N.J. inmates

ELIZABETH, N.J., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A manhunt was under way Sunday for two men who escaped from the Union County Jail in Elizabeth, N.J., Saturday evening.

The inmates, both in jail in connection with violent crimes, escaped by tunneling through two cement block walls, scaling a 25-foot fence topped with razor wire and making a run for it, The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger reported.

They temporarily duped authorities by leaving dummies in their beds covered by blankets, and -- in a witting or unwitting tribute to "The Shawshank Redemption" -- covered the holes in their walls with posters of bikini-clad women.

Jose Espinoza, 20, is a gang member who was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to killing a man in a 2005 drive-by shooting, the newspaper said. He was expected to get a 17-year prison sentence.

Otis Blunt, 32, was accused of shooting a convenience store worker during a robbery.

The two men, who were housed in adjacent cells, removed a cinder block 8 inches high and 16 inches wide from the wall between their cells allowing them to make their escape together, a Union County spokesman said.