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Collin County inmate found guilty of killing guard
By Danny Gallagher, McKinney Courier-Gazette
A Collin County inmate serving time in a state prison has been found guilty for killing a prison guard during an escape attempt.
A jury in Centerville found Jerry Duane Martin guilty on a count of capital murder for his role in the death of Texas Department of Criminal Justice officer Susan Canfield during an escape attempt in 2007, according to court records.
Martin, 40, and fellow inmate John Ray Falk Jr., 43, entered their not-guilty pleas in the Walker County District Court in Huntsville. Both men are facing the death penalty.
Falk was serving a life sentence for a 1986 murder in Matagorda County, according to TDCJ offender records.
Martin and Falk made their escape in a field next to the state prison off of Interstate 45 just north of Huntsville. Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark said Martin was allowed to work in the field since the prison considered him a minimum security risk or a ŇG2Ó general population inmate. Martin and Falk managed to overpower one of the field correctional officers. They stole their weapons and a city pickup truck and as they fled the scene, their vehicle struck Canfield who was on horseback and killed her.
Huntsville police, Walker County sheriffŐs deputies and TDCJ correctional officers began searching for the pair. Officers recovered the stolen pickup not far from the scene of their escape, Clark said.
Officers first captured Falk just more than one hour later after they abandoned a second vehicle. Police caught up to Martin in a wooded area off of Interstate 45 and set up a perimeter so officers could comb the area, Clark said.
Just before 2 p.m., tracking dogs from the Wynne Unit prison led officers to Martin who was hiding in a tree. Police also found a shotgun in the general area, and Martin did not have any other weapons on him at the time of his capture, Clark said.
Both men were taken to the Estelle Unit near Huntsville and placed them in solitary custody. Guards caught Martin trying to hang himself three days later in his cell at, Jason Clark, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman. Martin tried to hang himself by tying a pair of his boxer shorts to a light fixture, according to reports.
Contact Danny Gallagher at dgallagher@acnpapers.com.
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