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Nevada prison escapee recaptured after 27 years

After escaping from a Nevada prison 27 years ago, Samuel Avalos-Gallardo, 52, is now back behind bars..png
Posted at 5:09 PM, Apr 22, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-23 11:32:54-04

NEVADA (KTNV) — After escaping from a Nevada prison 27 years ago, Samuel Avalos-Gallardo, 52, is now back behind bars.

Avalos-Gallardo escaped from the Nevada Department of Corrections (formerly known as the Department of Prisons) in February 1994 while part of an NDF fire crew.

In 1992, Gallardo -- then 24 -- was driving while intoxicated when he drove onto the interstate ramp in the wrong direction hitting another vehicle head-on, according to authorities.

The driver of the vehicle, Gary Selby Jr., 18, was killed instantly and his passengers were seriously injured in the crash.

Gallardo was convicted of DUI causing death or serious bodily injury and received a 40-year sentence

He was found living in Nayarit, Mexico, and subsequently arrested and extradited back to the U.S. to serve the remainder of his sentence in NDOC custody.

The U.S. Marshals Service extradited Gallardo to Nevada from Mexico on April 21, nearly three decades after his escape.