ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The chief of New Mexico state police says investigators are close to concluding their inquiry into the escape of two violent inmates, with no charges pending against the guards who were transporting the men.
Chief Pete Kassetas told The Associated Press on Wednesday that it's possible others would be arrested in the March 9 escape.
State police say convicted murderer Joseph Cruz and Lionel Clah, another violent felon, picked their handcuffs and fled a fortified prisoner transport van as guards stopped for gas along a rural highway. They were apprehended days later in Albuquerque.
Kassetas says the agency will soon hand over its findings to the Department of Corrections, which also is investigating.
Authorities previously said the investigation would look at whether guards were directly involved in the escape.