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Michelle Abeyta, left, and Patricia Petrushkin were charged with aiding escaped convicts Joseph Cruz and Lionel Clah in New Mexico.(Photo: Courtesy: New Mexico State Police)
Authorities charged two women Wednesday with aiding a pair of New Mexico convicts who escaped a prison van last week during a fuel stop.
Michelle Abeyta, 40, of Albuquerque and Patricia Petrushkin, 51, of Humble, Texas were arrested on charges they harbored<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Lionel Clah and Joseph Cruz, two fugitives who<span style="color: Red;">*</span>escaped March 9 from a New Mexico Department of Corrections van in the small town of Artesia, according to statements from New Mexico State Police.
Cruz was taken into custody in Albuquerque after a brief foot chase Friday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>evening,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>while<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Clah<span style="color: Red;">*</span>surrendered to police Saturday at Abeyta's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>apartment.
Abeyta, who called 911 Saturday saying Clah<span style="color: Red;">*</span>broke into her apartment, is no longer eligible to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>receive<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the U.S. Marshals' reward money. She was booked in jail late Wednesday night.
Not long after, Petrushkin was taken into custody at a Houston airport. She faces extradition to Mexico.
Escaped inmate Lionel Clah is escorted into the State Police office in Albuquerque after being captured Saturday afternoon, March 12, 2016.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Roberto E. Rosales, AP)
When interviewed by state police agents Saturday, Abeyta admitted meeting<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Cruz and Clah March 10 when they showed up at a neighbor's apartment, according to the statement.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Cruz's sister, Olivia, did not rent the apartment but was staying there.
The owner of the apartment, who was not aware the men were wanted, demanded them to leave. That's when, police said, Abeyta invited Clah into her apartment.
Clah told Abeyta he had escaped from prison, officials said, but Abeyta said she enjoyed his "companionship"—at least until she called the cops on him two days later.
Petrushkin, who was arrested later Wednesday night, conspired with one of the convicts before their escape, according to the statement. Petrushkin admitted she spoke with Cruz while he was detained at the Penitentiary of New Mexico, offering to help if he got away.
In this Saturday, March 12, 2016, photo provided by the New Mexico Corrections Department shows inmate Joseph Cruz.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: AP)
The night Cruz and Clah escaped, Petrushkin was staying at the Hawthorne Suites in Albuquerque. She told police she received two phone calls from Cruz between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. He asked where she was, and she told him.
Cruz and Clah<span style="color: Red;">*</span>arrived at Petrushkin's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>motel room around 2 a.m.
Petrushkin harbored Cruz and Clah in her hotel room, according to the statement. She gave them money and a cellphone, along with clothing for Clah.
"Ms. Petrushkin was aware both Cruz and Clah were fugitives at the time and chose not to contact law enforcement, opting instead to aid and abet the fugitives," New Mexico State Police said in the statement.
Clah was serving a 30-year prison sentence for his 2009<span style="color: Red;">*</span>conviction in the shooting of Sgt. Korey Faulk of the San Juan<span style="color: Red;">*</span>County Sheriff's Office<span style="color: Red;">*</span>during a high-speed chase.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Cruz has been convicted of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and child abuse in the slaying of a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Raton<span style="color: Red;">*</span>man in 2006. He was serving a life sentence.
Investigators said they believe the men picked their handcuffs, but it’s still not known how they broke free from their leg irons, ditched their white prison jumpsuits and changed clothes<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and got a ride headed north to Albuquerque, a roughly three-hour drive. The two made it to the Albuquerque hotel by 2:30 a.m.
Authorities didn't realize the men were missing until about four hours after the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>escape. Two unidentified guards were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation into the escape, state corrections officials said.
Contributing: The Associated Press<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
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