Friday January 5 5:35 AM ET
Texas Manhunt for Armed Convicts Enters 4th Week

DALLAS (Reuters) - Three weeks after seven armed convicts escaped from a Texas prison, authorities continued to scour the state for the gang suspected of shooting a policeman 11 times in a Christmas Eve robbery near Dallas.

Local and state police and federal agents were chasing down a flurry of phone tips from the public, alarmed by the brutal robbery, and hoping a reward of $100,000 per escapee would lead to the gang's hiding place, state officials said.

``We do not have intelligence which would indicate they are anywhere but still hunkered down in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,'' said Glen Castlebury of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
(TDCJ).

Pictures of the escapees and two vehicles they may be using were posted on the TDCJ Web site (http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us). They are being sought on capital murder charges in the officer's
slaying as well as federal weapons charges.

Castlebury said investigators believe the seven escapees -- two convicted killers, two armed robbers, a child abuser, a serial rapist and a burglar -- have had outside help in securing a hiding place, food and other help.

``When they start moving they will make a mistake that leads to their capture,'' he said.

Manhunt By Local, State, Federal Officials

Federal agencies including the FBI have been involved in the manhunt from the beginning, Castlebury said.

The convicts are exercising unusual discipline in sticking together so long after they broke out of Connally state prison in far south Texas, 300 miles from Dallas, officials said.

Police said the gang stole 14 handguns, a shotgun and a rifle when they broke out of prison and more than 25 guns when they robbed the Oshman's Super Sports USA near Dallas last week. They
also took winter clothes, ammunition and about $70,000 in cash.

Police fear the armory means the fugitives do not intend to be stopped, considering they would face the death penalty if convicted of Hawkins' murder.

Two gang members are suspected of robbing a Houston Radio Shack store on Dec. 15, just two days after they escaped, tying up store employees at gunpoint and grabbing items including police radio scanners.

Police said those scanners may have helped the gang carry out the Oshman's robbery in Irving. Posing as security guards, they corralled two dozen store employees during the robbery and then
ambushed Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins as he arrived to answer a 911 call.

The Dallas county coroner's office said Hawkins was shot 11 times from different directions, including six times in the head, and run over when he tried to stop the robbery.

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