CNN and AP report:

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Police fear master criminal may be leading Texas escapees

December 29, 2000

Web posted at: 11:27 a.m. EST (1627

GMT)

In this story:

Escapees have arsenal of weapons

'One of the most dangerous men in El Paso'

DALLAS, Texas -- Seven escaped convicts suspected of killing an Irving, Texas, police officer on Christmas Eve still are at large, and authorities say they are in a race against time to find the men before they strike again.

Police believe an armed robber described as a master criminal is leading the band of escapees. Lawmen say that they are heavily armed and that they may be planning a violent showdown.

"They are apparently on a mission, and it's a pretty dark mission," FBI spokeswoman Lori Bailey told The Dallas Morning News. "Does anybody know what that is right now? I don't think anybody does."

Bailey said the federal agency was compiling behavioral profiles of the escaped convicts.

The only clue to the plans of the seven inmates, which includes two murderers, was a note left during their escape from a Kenedy prison on December 13: "You haven't heard the last of us."

Escapees have arsenal of weapons

The last time the escapees were seen in public was at a robbery at an Irving sporting goods store on Christmas Eve that left 29-year-old rookie Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins dead.

The bandits got away with more than two dozen weapons, including semiautomatic hunting rifles and pistols. They already had an arsenal of weapons taken from a prison guard tower during their escape.

Those weapons and rumors that they are being aided raises the specter of a violent standoff, Bailey said.

"Certainly we're all concerned about that," she told the Los Angeles Times. "They have quite a cache of weapons and ammunition, and they're obviously not afraid to use them."

Irving Police Chief Lowell Cannaday echoed Bailey's concerns.

"Given the history of the kind of people we're dealing with, the likelihood of having another serious injury or death is a real good possibility," Cannaday told CNN.

'One of the most dangerous men in El Paso'

Authorities believe leader of the escapees is George Rivas, who was serving 99 years for aggravated kidnapping and burglary. Prosecutors and law officers called him "one of the most dangerous men in El Paso."

Rivas was caught after a string of armed robberies in El Paso, which resembled the Christmas Eve robbery and included the same target -- an Oshman's Super Sports USA store. His arrest followed a three-hour standoff with police.

The slain officer was remembered Thursday at a memorial service as a kind, helpful man whose lifelong dream was to make the world better by fighting crime.

"It's not how Aubrey died that made him my hero -- it's how he lived," Cannaday told the more than 1,000 people gathered for the service.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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