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American Morning

Two of Four Escaped Fugitives Who Broke Out of Texas Prison Caught Yesterday

Aired February 07, 2002 - 07:12   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More now on that tense hostage situation that ended a short while ago in Oklahoma. Two of four escaped fugitives who broke out of a Texas prison last week were caught yesterday. The other two, though, took a man hostage in a convenience store and were engaged in a long stand-off overnight and into the morning hours with police and federal agents.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is near that convenience store now in Ardmore, Oklahoma, where the whole thing, we're happy to report, has ended peacefully -- Ed, what's the latest?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is that FBI investigators and police here are Ardmore, Oklahoma have had a very long night as they've negotiated an end, a peaceful end to the hostage situation. Two of the suspects, the prison suspects that escaped from a Texas jail about a week and a half ago took a 70-year-old gentleman hostage at the convenience store just down the road from where we're standing, but about an hour and a half ago all of that came to an end.

And to fill in some of the details here, Richard Marquise, FBI special agent in charge in Oklahoma.

Sir, tell us exactly what happened throughout the night and how it all came to an end finally.

RICHARD MARQUISE, FBI: Well, last night we got a tip into the command post in Terrill, Oklahoma that these, the fugitives may have used a telephone here in Ardmore near where they abandoned their truck at the end of last week. An FBI agent and a Carter County deputy came here to check out that telephone to see if perhaps someone there would have seen these fugitives and the agents spotted Charles Jordan. And around the back of the convenience store the deputy saw Chrystal Soto. And they were immediately placed under arrest.

Josh Bagwell and Curtis Gambill were inside the convenience store with the proprietor or owner of the store and they stayed in there from approximately 10 o'clock last night until the negotiators negotiated a peaceful solution at 4:30 this morning.

LAVANDERA: Everything we had heard about these guys, that they were extremely dangerous, throughout the evening, did you get a sense that they were tired, or they were tired of running? Did they pose a threat at any point, a real threat to folks, over the last week and a half?

MARQUISE: Well, they certainly posed a threat. They had the potential to commit other violent acts. They've all been convicted or charged with violent homicides. I think that people in this area are very lucky they did not choose to commit violent crimes. We understand they've been living in the woods ever since they escaped from jail. And the sighting last night by the agent and the Carter County deputy was the first sighting of these individuals since they escaped from the jail in Montauk, Texas.

LAVANDERA: All right, Mr. Marquise, I know you've had a long night so we'll let you start getting some rest.

MARQUISE: Thank you.

LAVANDERA: And these inmates are being held in a county jail. They were taken, as we mentioned, an hour and a half ago. So a peaceful end to the story here in Ardmore, Oklahoma -- Jack, back to you.

CAFFERTY: Ed, thank you.

Ed Lavandera reporting live from Oklahoma.

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