LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A convicted murderer who escaped from Southern Desert Correctional Center, northeast of Las Vegas, last year is pleading guilty.
Court records show that Porfirio Duarte-Herrera agreed to plea guilty to escape charges on Nov. 2.
He originally escaped from prison in Sept. 2022. He was serving a life sentenced for placing a pipe bomb on a car in the parking lot at the Luxor in 2007. That was with accomplice Omar Denvers. The blast killed Willebaldo Antonio and prosecutors said the bombing was a "revenge killing" due to Antonio dating Denvers' ex-girlfriend. In 2010, Duarte-Herrara was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder.
In Sept. 2022, Duarte-Herrera escaped from Southern Desert Correctional Center after his appeal was denied. According to an Inspector General's report, Duarte-Herrera told detectives he decided to escape because he knew the towers at the prison were not operational and hadn't been manned for the previous three years and that there were "too many inmates for the limited amount of guards/officers per unit".
RELATED LINK: NDOC: Nevada inmate escaped because he knew prison towers weren't operational
Duarte-Herrera escaped on Sept. 23 but corrections facility staff didn't realize it until a headcount on Sept. 27. Duarte-Herrera was later caught and arrested at a shuttle company in Las Vegas.
The incident led to then-governor Steve Sisolak asking then-DOC director Charles Daniels to resign. Deputy director William Gittere was then appointed to serve as acting director. At the time, six officers with the NDOC were also placed on administrative leave.
According to court records, he is scheduled to sentenced on escape charges on Dec. 14.
