JOSE ESPINOSA, OTIS BLUNT ESCAPE UNION COUNTY JAIL: THE MANHUNT IS ON!

Otis Blunt, left, and Jose Espinosa escaped from the Union County Jail Saturday night, officials say.

Escaped prisoner Jose Espinosa left a dummy in his cell in his place.

Pinups of bikini-clad women hid jailbreak route, officials say

(CNN) -- Two inmates at New Jersey's Union County Jail made a movie-style escape Saturday and remained at large Monday, according to Union County Prosecutor Ted Romanko.

Twenty-year-old Jose Espinosa and 32-year-old Otis Blunt, who are considered armed and dangerous, were discovered missing from their cells at about 5:15 p.m. Saturday, Romanko said.

The men left behind dummies in their beds, cinder block dust and a note wishing authorities "Happy Holidays."

Espinosa, who recently pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, was to be sentenced on January 25 and faced a minimum of 17 years in prison. Blunt was being held in lieu of $75,000 bond on weapon and robbery charges.

Both men were being housed in the high security area of the multilevel jail, Romanko said.
Police said Espinosa and Blunt were in adjacent cells and used a long metal wire to scrape away mortar around the cinder block between their cells and the outer wall in Espinosa's cell.

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http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/17/nj.jailbreak/index.html