Official: Jail Guard Distracted during Escape

SULPHUR SPRINGS (AP) – A sheriff’s office spokesman in East Texas says two inmates who escaped for two days took advantage of a guard distracted by several other duties. Capital murder suspect Brian Allen Tucker (pictured) and John Marlin King – who recently pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge – were found Thursday in a barn in Cooper, a town about 20 miles away from the Hopkins County Jail in Sulphur Springs. While the two men face additional felony charges, Hopkins County officials say they’re studying how to improve security and prevent another escape. Sgt. Brad Cummings of the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office says part of the problem was Tucker and King had been in the jail several times and possibly knew how to successfully escape.