Sam Amico
An accused murderer in Oregon busted out of a courthouse and eluded police officers as he made a daring escape during the jury selection process of his pretrial.
Videos by Rare
Edi Villalobos, 28, was charged in the 2021 slaying of 33-year-old Artemio Guzman-Olvera and was led into the Washington County Courthouse courtroom by two police officers. Villalobos was wearing leg shackles and handcuffs, security footage showed.
The officers removed the restraints when Villalobos was sitting — and removing the restraints required by law. But instead of staying seated, Villalobos darted for the door.
Edi Villalobos
The video shows he jetted out onto the first-floor hallway and through a staff-only exit as the deputies gave chase.
At first, deputies had lost him, and it seemed like Villalobos had made a clean getaway.
It resulted in a two-hour manhunt. But it wasn’t long before someone tipped off authorities, saying a man had been trying to break into a vacant apartment. That man was Villalobos, it turned out, and police found him hiding under a blanket on the vacant apartment’s floor.
Villalobos has been scheduled to stand trial in early March for the fatal stabbing Guzman-Olvera on April 10, 2021, as well as a second stabbing that left another man in critical condition. Clearly, he is about to have additional charges tacked on to those.
