A convicted bomb maker, responsible for the deadly 2007 bombing in Las Vegas has reportedly escaped from prison.
Porfirio Duarte-Herrera, a 42-year-old Nicaraguan was convicted in 2010 of killing a hot dog stand vendor using a motion-activated bomb in a coffee cup placed on a car parked at the Luxor hotel-casino. He was sentenced to life in prison.
However, on Tuesday, authorities at the Southern Desert Correctional Center near Las Vegas discovered he was missing during a morning head count. According to a statement from the state Department of Corrections, search teams have been deployed to look for him.
Governor Steve Sisolak of Nevada described the situation as “unacceptable” in a statement. He added that he had also ordered corrections officials to “conduct and complete a thorough investigation into this event as quickly as possible.”
According to the Governor, Duarte-Herrera had escaped from the medium-security prison since early in the weekend.
“This kind of security lapse cannot be permitted and those responsible will be held responsible,” he added.
Records show that his co-defendant, Omar Rueda-Denvers, remained in custody Tuesday. The 47-year-old from Guatemala is also serving a life sentence at a different Nevada prison for murder, attempted murder, explosives and other charges.
At the time of the trial, a Clark County District Court jury had spared both men from the death penalty. The bombing led to the death of Willebaldo Dorantes Antonio, whom prosecutors identified as the boyfriend of Rueda-Denvers’ ex-girlfriend.
Prosecutors said jealousy was the motive for the attack on the top deck of a two-story parking structure. The blast initially raised fears of a terrorist attack on the Strip.
