Escaped convict refused Sharpton's help

Published: Jan. 9, 2008 at 11:31 PM

ELIZABETH, N.J., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- The Rev. Al Sharpton returned to the United States Wednesday from an unsuccessful trip to Mexico City to bring back an escaped prisoner from New Jersey.

But the fugitive, Otis Blunt, wound up being arrested Wednesday anyway. Blunt reportedly had asked Sharpton to help him surrender, then changed his mind, the New York Daily News reported.

Blunt, 32, escaped Dec. 15 with Jose Espinosa, 20. He was awaiting trial on charges of robbery and weapons.

While in Mexico, Sharpton talked to Blunt by phone, but never saw the fugitive in person, the newspaper said.

Espinosa was arrested Tuesday, six blocks from the jail, in Elizabeth, N.J. He had hurt his leg leaping from the roof of the jail during the escape, authorities said.

The cellmates' escape was similar to the plot of Stephen King's "The Shawshank Redemption," in which fictional prisoners dug through prison walls, hiding their progress from guards with posters of women in bikinis.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
NHL: St. Louis 5, Los Angeles 4 (SO) (14 min)
COL FB: Alabama 32, Florida 13 (16 min)
Goosen maintains his lead at Sun City golf (60 min)
COL FB: East Carolina 38, Houston 32
COL FB: West Virginia 24, Rutgers 21
Spain wins second straight Davis Cup title
Ohio State guard Evan Turner hurts back
fark
MIT team wins DARPA balloon challenge. Thanks for all of your effort, Farkers. We put up a good...
If you notice an eight-foot red weather balloon today while you're driving around, please let Fark...
Today's Fark ready headline "Busy street, beaver don't mix"
Dumb: Guy travels two hours to the #1 drinking town in the U.S., gets plastered, and gets beat up/robbed....
Photoshop theme: The secret life of plants
Class President, straight-A student who is "rather cocky in my intelligence, and ... definitely...