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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Boise jail escapee recaptured in Wyoming

Associated Press

BOISE – A 39-year-old Idaho man who escaped from a Boise jail while facing an attempted murder charge was caught Monday in Wyoming after authorities say he led them on a chase in two different trucks.

Harlan James Hale was arrested near Lyman, Wyo., about 120 miles east of Salt Lake City.

Hale, who escaped June 18 from the Ada County Jail in Boise after breaking free from guards, breaking through a gate with a faulty lock and scaling a fence topped with razor wire, first led Lyman police officers on a chase in a Nissan truck, Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney said in a statement.

Lyman officers grew suspicious because the Nissan was registered in California, but had Nevada license plates, said Betina Yore, an Ada County sheriff’s spokeswoman.

“They attempted to pull the pickup over when a man led them on a pursuit and then eventually fled on foot,” Raney’s statement said.

Then Hale commandeered a 2001 Chevrolet truck, briefly holding the owner at gunpoint before fleeing in that vehicle.

The Chevy owner wasn’t injured.

“The pursuit continued until the suspect high-centered the pickup” and again fled on foot. Police caught him a short time later, Raney’s statement said.

“We’ve always been concerned that someone might be hurt by him,” Raney said. “We’re thankful he didn’t get that chance.”

Ada County law enforcement officers are still looking for a 36-year-old Idaho woman they believe may have helped Hale after his jailbreak last week. Tracey Lee Gonzales is being sought on a $100,000 warrant. Hale had been held in the Ada County Jail on charges of first-degree attempted murder of an officer, eluding police, three counts of assault and battery of a police officer, drug possession and receiving stolen property.

The charges stem from a Feb. 28 traffic stop in Boise in which he’s accused of firing a gun at officers – and a chase nine days later when he was finally caught by police after crashing his car through a shed and into an irrigation ditch. In that chaotic incident, police fired 22 shots, hitting houses, cars and a clothes dryer – but not Hale.

On the day Hale escaped, deputies had improperly left two doors open and removed his arm and leg restraints at the door of his cell, rather than inside it, Raney has said.

Four jail employees remain on leave as officials investigate the escape.

Ada County officials didn’t estimate when Hale would be returned to Idaho.