Gang Member Who Escaped From Jail Turns Himself In
Crips gang member Eric Wright, 18, who escaped from the overcrowded 77th Street police station jail last weekend, turned himself in Saturday, police said. Buford Bates, 24, a fellow Crips member who also escaped with Wright, was still at large.
A third prisoner, Thurston Price, 27, who also escaped over the weekend, was captured Monday. Police said Price, who had been arrested on suspicion of burglary, was not a gang member.
Wright and Bates were arrested March 3 in the first joint operation by the FBI and the Police Department to crack down on drug trafficking by Los Angeles gangs. The two gang members were arrested in connection with a Jan. 30 robbery and kidnaping in which they allegedly stole 11 guns--including a MAC-10 assault rifle--from man they allegedly kidnaped, police said. Both were booked on robbery and kidnaping charges.
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