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Man climbed 25-foot fence to escape New Mexico jail

By Ben Hooper
Joseph Maestas climbs a fence to escape from the Metropolitan Detention Center in New Mexico. Screenshot: KOAT-TV
Joseph Maestas climbs a fence to escape from the Metropolitan Detention Center in New Mexico. Screenshot: KOAT-TV

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ALBUQUERQUE, March 31 (UPI) -- Security camera footage has been released showing a suspect escaping from a New Mexico jail by climbing a 25-foot razor-wire fence.

The footage of Joseph Maestas, 23, making his mad dash from inside the gates of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo County earlier this month shows the man being the first to exit the Albuquerque Police Department prisoner transport van while holding his hands behind his back like they were handcuffed.

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The video from the March 16 incident shows Maestas making a run for it when he notices a guard is not looking at him, and reveals his hands were not bound by cuffs.

Maestas had a several-second head start before other detainees alerted the guards to the running man, and video from a second camera shows the man climbing over a 25-foot-tall razor wire fence while guards gather on the inside of the barrier.

Maestas is seen running off into the Mesa while the guards are stuck on the other side of the fence.

Footage filmed a short time later shows a car speeding through the Mesa shortly before being stopped by police.

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Maestas surrendered and was returned to custody, but his time behind bars was short-lived -- charges in the case he was arrested for were dismissed. The district attorney's office said prosecutors plan to refile the charges as well as pursue three separate felony chases against Maestas.

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