Three escape Clovis jail

CLOVIS — Three inmates escaped from the Clovis jail about 11 a.m. Friday and remained at large Friday night.

Officials said area residents should "use caution and be alert for strangers."

The escapees were identified as Aaron Clark, Ricky Sena and Victor Apodaca.

Records show Clark, 31, had been in jail accused of child abuse.

Sena, 24, was accused of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, automobile theft and aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer.

Apodaca, 28, had been jailed on drug charges.

A news release from Curry County Sheriff Wesley Waller reported the "escapees were last seen exiting an east facing door and traveling north on foot. All three were last seen wearing white T-shirts, white boxer shorts and white Do Rag-style head coverings."

All three were charged Friday night with escape from jail, and an affidavit for arrest warrant noted they "escaped from the outdoor recreation area through three (3) secured doors."

Waller said an investigation into the escape was being conducted and the 9th Judicial Major Crimes Unit was activated to assist in searching for the escapees.

Curry County Manager Lance Pyle said one detention officer was placed on administrative leave, pending investigation, less than an hour after the escape. He did not identify that officer.

The sheriff provided the following descriptions of the escapees:

• Aaron Davis Clark — white male, 31 years of age, blond hair (burr style haircut) hazel eyes, wears dark-rimmed prescription glasses, 6'1", 255 lbs.

Tattoos: Right side neck — Lion with crown; left side neck — Letter "C" with a crown on top; throat — Letter "G"; left hand — $100 bills; right hand — cobra snake; right forearm — skull, tombstones; right upper arm — skulls, Jessica Rabbit, gun.

Currently being held for failure to appear, possession of a firearm or destructive device by a felon, attempt to commit child abuse, theft of identity and credit card fraud.

• Victor Andrew Apodaca — Hispanic male, 28 years of age, black hair, brown eyes, 5'10", 155 lbs.

Tattoos: Neck — "RENEE", "ANDREA"; left hand fingers — "ANDREA"; back — "APODACA".

Currently being held for possession of a firearm by a felon, receiving stolen property, trafficking controlled substances, distribution of marijuana and failure to appear for conspiracy to commit trafficking. Also being held for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for charges in that state.

• Ricky Ramon Sena — Hispanic male, 24 years of age, black hair, brown eyes, 6'0", 145 lbs.

Tattoos: Right arm — "Sena" with two Zia symbols; Inner right arm - Zia symbol with NM state outline; left upper arm — "SONIA"; right wrist — "GRACE"; left hand — "CURRY", face; chest — "NUEVO MEXICO"; back — "RIP SANTOS"; left leg — female, smoke, flames, Aztec temple and dragon.

Currently being held for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Anyone with information concerning the location of the escapees was asked to contact any law enforcement agency as soon as possible.

Pyle declined to say more Friday night on the particulars of the escape but promised more details when they were available.

"As soon as the the County can provide details, we will do so as the public deserves answers and we will make sure that the public has them," he wrote in a message to The News.

KVII-TV in Amarillo reported Apodaca was sentenced to 60 years in prison after he was convicted in 2017 of two aggravated assaults against a public servant in Carson County, Texas. He was in Clovis to face the additional drug charges, which include trafficking heroin.

The Curry County jail has been the site of multiple escapes — 16 of them between 2002 and 2013, including eight one night in 2008 — but the issues seemed to have been resolved in recent years. Pyle said Friday's escape was the first at the jail since Mark Gallegos was hired as administrator in January 2016.

County officials are in the process of making $11.6 million worth of improvements to the jail, a result of concerns about the escapes and other security issues.