Homicide bomber escapes from Nevada prison – Law Officer

LAS VEGAS – A state prisoner in Nevada who was convicted of murder in a 2007 homicide bombing has escaped, according to authorities.

The search for Porfirio Duarte-Herrera, 42, was ongoing late Tuesday afternoon — at least four days since the inmate was last accounted for, the Reno Gazette Journal reported.

Duarte-Herrera and his accomplice, Omar Rueda-Denvers, were convicted of first-degree murder by a Clark County jury in September 2009 for a bombing at the Luxor Hotel and Casino. The blast was a revenge killing of Willebaldo Dorantes Antonio, a casino worker who was dating Rueda-Denvers ex-girlfriend, prosecutors said.

Duarte-Herrera has been missing since Friday evening from the Southern Desert Correctional Center in Indian Springs, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections. The site is a medium-security facility northwest of Las Vegas.

The inmate had been serving a life sentence at the Southern Nevada prison at the time of his escape. (Rueda-Denvers is also serving a life sentence.)

Prison officials did not notice Duarte-Herrera was missing until a 7 a.m. headcount on Tuesday. NDOC has not released further details about his escape, including why it took days before prison officials realized he was missing, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.

The prison was placed on a full lockdown Tuesday, and “escape procedures” were initiated around 8 a.m. once an additional emergency headcount confirmed the inmate was missing.

Duarte-Herrera is 5-foot-4, 135 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. He has no tattoos. Authorities said he should be considered dangerous and should not be approached.

Local, state and federal law enforcement officials are engaged in the manhunt for the convicted killer, according to NDOC.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to call 911.