Ector County Inmate Caught During Attempted Escape
By: Dylan Brooks
Updated: March 8, 2011
ODESSA -- An inmate who tried to escape from the Ector County Detention Center Sunday has been captured.
Eddie Licon Palma, 20, was captured Sunday morning as he was attempting to break out of the facility. According to the Ector County Sheriff's Office, Palma escaped from his cell through the ceiling around 1:30 AM Sunday.
Detention officers heard noises coming from the cell and did a head count of the inmates in the area. They found out that Palma was not there, and that there was damage to the ceiling of the cell.
Officers searched the facility and found Palma hiding between the ceiling and the roof of the building less than 90 minutes later. Palma never made it outside of the jail.
Palma was behind bars for attempted capital murder. Now, Palma will also face a felony charge of attempted escape.
This was the second attempted escape in as many days at the facility. On Saturday morning, inmate Rickey Lavell Taylor, 32, and Robert Steven Dudley, 38, broke out of the facility. Taylor and Dudley cut a hole in the ceiling above their shower and made it on to the roof before escaping. They were captured later that day at a nearby motel.
Taylor and Dudley also broke out of the facility on January 29th, along with inmate Russell Graham Rice. All three were re-captured later that day. At that time, Ector County Mark Donaldson announced immediate policy changes to prevent inmates from escaping from the facility.
Taylor is accused of a 2009 murder, while Dudley is accused of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Both now face two counts of escape.
Eddie Licon Palma, 20, was captured Sunday morning as he was attempting to break out of the facility. According to the Ector County Sheriff's Office, Palma escaped from his cell through the ceiling around 1:30 AM Sunday.
Detention officers heard noises coming from the cell and did a head count of the inmates in the area. They found out that Palma was not there, and that there was damage to the ceiling of the cell.
Officers searched the facility and found Palma hiding between the ceiling and the roof of the building less than 90 minutes later. Palma never made it outside of the jail.
Palma was behind bars for attempted capital murder. Now, Palma will also face a felony charge of attempted escape.
This was the second attempted escape in as many days at the facility. On Saturday morning, inmate Rickey Lavell Taylor, 32, and Robert Steven Dudley, 38, broke out of the facility. Taylor and Dudley cut a hole in the ceiling above their shower and made it on to the roof before escaping. They were captured later that day at a nearby motel.
Taylor and Dudley also broke out of the facility on January 29th, along with inmate Russell Graham Rice. All three were re-captured later that day. At that time, Ector County Mark Donaldson announced immediate policy changes to prevent inmates from escaping from the facility.
Taylor is accused of a 2009 murder, while Dudley is accused of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Both now face two counts of escape.
