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Jailbreaker caught three weeks on, six blocks away

One of two inmates wanted in a daring jailbreak last month that echoed the plot of The Shawshank Redemption was captured in an apartment just six blocks from the jail, authorities said.

The two inmates had used photos of bikini-clad women to hide holes they dug through the cinder-block walls of their adjoining cells in a high-security unit, the Union County prosecutor's office said.

In The Shawshank Redemption the main character uses posters of women to conceal the escape tunnel he is digging.

A team of federal and local law enforcement officers arrested Jose Espinosa without incident on Tuesday night, said James Plousis, US marshal for New Jersey.

Otis Blunt, 32, with whom Plousis escaped on Dec. 15, remained at large.

THE ESCAPE

Espinosa, 20, was alone when arrested and had a leg injury suffered when he and Blunt made their escape, Plousis said.

After fleeing their cellls, the two are believed to have jumped onto a roof, from which they leaped over a 7.6m high fence topped with razor wire.

The inmates left a cheeky note thanking one of their guards, Rudolph Zurick, for helping them.

Authorities have said there was no evidence that Zurick helped the two inmates during their escape from the jail.

The guard committed suicide on Jan. 2, the day he was to speak to investigators about the escape. He was buried on Monday.

POLICE TIP

Authorities got a tip on Tuesday as to Espinosa's whereabouts, Plousis said, adding that he could not provide details.

Authorities have no reason to believe that Blunt had been with Espinosa, Plousis said.

Blunt was awaiting trial for robbery and weapons offenses at the time of the escape.

Espinosa was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to manslaughter in a 2005 drive-by shooting.
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