Texas Seven: Maximum Security Escape Ends in Murder
Seven inmates overpowered guards, stole weapons, and fled a Texas prison in 2000—leading to the death of a police officer and one of the largest death sentence cases in modern U.S. history
Quick Facts
On December 13, 2000, at approximately 11:20 a.m., seven inmates overpowered prison workers and guards at John B. Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas. What followed was one of the most audacious prison escapes in modern American history and a subsequent manhunt that would end in murder and unprecedented capital convictions.
The seven men—George Rivas, Michael Anthony Rodriguez, Joseph Garcia, Patrick Henry Murphy Jr., Larry James Harper, Donald Newbury, and Randy Halprin—were all serving sentences for serious violent crimes. Rivas, the ringleader, was serving 18 consecutive 15-to-life sentences. Rodriguez faced 99 years to life for contracting his wife's murder. The others were serving 50-year sentences for crimes ranging from murder to armed robbery.
During the escape, the inmates subdued a guard in a watchtower, left workers tied up and unconscious in an electrical room, and made off with 14 handguns, a shotgun, an AR-15 rifle, and over 100 rounds of ammunition. They fled north in a stolen prison maintenance truck. Outside the prison, Raul Rodriguez—father of inmate Michael Rodriguez—provided a getaway car. He would later be convicted of escape assistance, and in 2008, both he and Michael's mother, Patsy Gomez, were indicted for conspiracy.
The fugitives immediately began a crime spree. They robbed a Radio Shack in a Houston suburb for scanners and communication equipment. On Christmas Eve 2000, they struck again—this time at a sporting goods store in Irving, a suburb of Dallas. Posing as security guards, they handcuffed 23 employees, tied them up, and stole $70,000 in cash, winter clothing, and 25 firearms.
