An accused Oregon murderer fled cops and busted out of a courthouse in a daring escape during his pretrial last month.
Edi Villalobos, 28, who was charged within the 2021 slaying of 33-year-old Artemio Guzman-Olvera, fled the Washington County Courthouse through the jury selection process on February 27.
Security cameras inside Oregon’s Washington County Courthouse caught two officers escorting Villalobos into the courtroom before sitting him down in a chair, removing each his leg shackles and handcuffs.
State law requires all accused individuals to be unshackled from their restraints while in front of a jury so the restraints don’t taint the jurors’ decision.
“Those were removed due to Oregon law,” said Washington County Sheriff’s Communications Sergeant Danny DiPietro. “When someone’s in a trial, and any of the proceedings that goes together with it, including jury selection, Oregon law requires us to remove those restraints, and we did that, obviously.”
It took a matter of seconds for Villalobos to return to his criminal ways.
He quickly stood up and darted for the door at the back of the room, racing through the first-floor hallways and out a staff-only entrance of the courthouse, as two deputies chased after him.
A two-hour manhunt ensued for Villalobos, forcing a shelter-in-place message to be sent out to the local residents.
Police had caught glimpse of Villalobos twice, each leading to foot pursuits, but he was in a position to get away each times, in line with NBC affiliate KGW.
Sheriff’s deputies looked for the person with the assistance of drones, K-9 units, and two local police departments, in line with a press release.
Law enforcement was tipped by a resident of an apartment complex a few man attempting to interrupt right into a door and located Villalobos hiding under a blanket inside an empty apartment at around 1:45 PM.
Villalobos was scheduled to face trial in early March for the fatal stabbing Guzman-Olvera on April 10, 2021, and a second stabbing that left one other man in critical condition, in line with KGW.
He has also been accused of critically stabbing a second, unrelated man later within the day.
Villalobos who was facing several charges including second-degree murder, and illegal use of a weapon could have several others tacked on for his daring escape from court including escape within the second degree and one other burglary charge.
No jurors were within the courtroom on the time of the escape, and Villalobos was returned back to Washington County jail following his arrest and will probably be awaiting the restart of his trial.
It’s unclear if Villalobos will probably be restrained when the jury reconvenes, because the Oregon law still stands.
“I imagine their going to push for the hearing to permit restraints to be on during his trial when it comes up,” DePietro said. “But that’s for the courts, the DA’s office, and court security to undergo that process.”
