A murder suspect in Oregon escaped a courthouse during his pretrial last month, according to reports.
On Feb. 27, Edi Villalobos busted out of the Washington County Courthouse during the jury selection process. Villalobos, 28, was scheduled to stand trial earlier this month for the slaying of 33-year-old Artemio Guzman-Olvera in 2021.
Security camera footage captured two officers inside the courthouse taking Villalobos into the courtroom, where he was then seated in a chair and freed from both his leg shackles and handcuffs.
State law mandates that all accused individuals be freed before the jury in order to prevent the jury’s verdict from being tainted by the constraints.
“Those were removed because of Oregon law,” said Washington County Sheriff’s Communications Sgt. Danny DiPietro. “When someone’s in a trial, and any of the proceedings that goes along with it, including jury selection, Oregon law requires us to remove those restraints, and we did that, obviously.”
Villalobos then returned to his criminal ways as he quickly stood up and bolted for the door at the rear of the room, dashing through the first-floor halls and out a staff-only entrance of the courthouse.
NBC affiliate KGW reported that police had caught a glimpse of the escapee twice, each resulting in foot pursuits, but he was able to get away both times. Sheriff’s deputies used drones, K-9 units, and two local police departments to search for Villalobos.
Law enforcement was later tipped off by a resident of an apartment complex about a man attempting to break into a door and found Villalobos hiding under a blanket inside an empty apartment around 1:45 p.m.
There were no jurors present at the time of the escape, and Villalobos was sent back to the Washington County jail following his arrest and will be awaiting the restart of his trial. It is unclear if he will be restrained when the jury reconvenes, as the Oregon law is still in effect.
“I imagine they’re going to push for the hearing to allow restraints to be on during his trial when it comes up,” DePietro said. “But that is for the courts, the DA’s office, and court security to go through that process.”
