Luxor Casino Bomber Apprehended in Vegas After Brazen Escape from Nevada Prison

Posted on: September 29, 2022, 10:01h. 

Last updated on: September 30, 2022, 03:54h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

The escaped Luxor casino bomber was located and arrested on Wednesday night after five days on the lam. He was spotted in Las Vegas near the intersection of North Eastern and Owens avenues, and then apprehended by local police.

Porfirio Duarte-Herrera, 42, broke out of Southern Desert Correctional Center on Friday, where he was held since being convicted for the 2007 murder of a man at the Luxor.

To force open his cell window, he spilled acid on the area near the window casing, KLAS, a local TV station, reported. He then climbed out through the open window. He left a cardboard dummy in the cell to mislead guards.

Duarte-Herrera then made his way over a barbed-wire fence, KLAS revealed. Eventually, he fled from Indian Springs, Nev., the prison’s location, and made his way some 45 miles to Las Vegas.

Someone in the area recognized him. His photo and description had been widely disseminated by the media.

Headed South

Officers stopped Duarte-Herrera after he had bought a bus ticket to Mexico, US Marshal for Nevada Gary Schofield told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

It is believed that he was wearing a black baseball cap, blue shirt, and blue shorts for part of the way. He had a blue backpack with him and was carrying a coat he had sewed in a class at the prison, according to KLAS.

Even though he escaped on Friday, prison guards only realized Duarte-Herrara was missing as of Tuesday morning. Then, on Tuesday evening, the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) confirmed he escaped from the penitentiary on Friday evening.

News of the escape and the reporting apparently infuriated Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D). He wants those responsible to “be held accountable.”

So far, it is unclear if prison guards were lax in guarding him, and there’s been no word on if he had any help in his escape.

On Wednesday, before his capture, federal officials upped the reward for his arrest from $5,000 to $30,000.

Duarte-Herrera is an undocumented immigrant from Nicaragua, the Washington Times reported.

Murder Plot

Duarte-Herrera has been incarcerated at the prison since 2010, He was convicted for the murder of Willebaldo Dorantes Antonio at the Luxor casino. Antonio was killed after a pipe bomb exploded on the Luxor Hotel & Casino’s parking garage roof.

Duarte-Herrera and a second defendant, Omar Rueda-Denvers, were convicted of murder by use of a deadly weapon and attempted murder by use of a deadly weapon in connection with the incident.

Duarte-Herrera was sentenced to life in prison without any options for parole.

The bomb was hidden in a coffee cup that was placed on top of the victim’s car, the Las Vegas Sun said. The bomb had a motion-activated trigger that was activated when Dorantes Antonio picked up the cup, authorities revealed. He was unaware the explosive device was inside.

Dorantes Antonio’s right hand was seriously injured from the explosion. A piece of metal also got lodged in his head, the Sun reported. His then-girlfriend, Caren Chali, was standing near the car at the time, but wasn’t hurt in the explosion.

Chali was Rueda-Denvers’ former girlfriend. The two had a daughter together, reports said. Rueda-Denvers was jealous of the new relationship between her and Dorantes Antonio, prosecutors revealed during the trial.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty for the two defendants. But both got life sentences without any chance of parole.

In 2019, a federal judge granted Rueda-Denvers a new trial because of improper court procedures. In a retrial last year, he was convicted of murder, attempted murder, and other charges.