Search For Escaped Inmate Intensifies After Stockton Shootout
STOCKTON (CBS) — Law enforcement officers are mounting a tense manhunt across Northern California for escaped inmate John Bivins, who fled a shootout with officers in Stockton in a green 1999 Ford Explorer.
Meanwhile, fellow escapee Tramel McClough was back in custody.
The pair had been arrested in February on suspicion of stealing $64,400 worth of cellphones and other merchandise from a Verizon store in Sunnyvale. According to police, the two men were wearing masks when they allegedly forced the store's employees to open the store's safe and then tied them up and locked them in a bathroom. One was armed with a handgun and the other with a knife.
They were at the Palo Alto courthouse for hearings last week, but were able to escape and flee.
Marquita Kirk and Rene Hunt were both arrested on suspicion of conspiracy and being an accessory after the fact for aiding in the brazen escape.
On Tuesday, the pair was spotted on I-5 near Stockton around 5 p.m. California Highway Patrol attempted a traffic stop, but the pair instead flee and a chase ensued.
Officers followed the car to a Walmart where McClough bailed out and was arrested. Meanwhile, Bivins took the wheel and fled.
