The search continued Monday for a convicted killer who scaled a fence and escaped from a Western Maryland prison over the weekend, state police said.
Kandelario Garcia-Ramos, 23, of Langley Park in Prince George’s, apparently slipped away as his unit moved to or from the dining hall for breakfast at the Maryland Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, according to the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
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State police said Garcia-Ramos was wearing prison bluejeans and other unknown prison clothing when he escaped from the medium security facility about 70 miles northwest of Baltimore.
He may have cuts on his body from an 18-foot razor wire perimeter fence that he covered with clothing and climbed over between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m., police said.
He is not known to be armed but should be considered dangerous, police said.
Garcia-Ramos was serving the first year of a 40-year sentence for stabbing his former boss to death during a December 2007 altercation at a Bladensburg tire shop in Prince George’s, police said.
While returning to rob 2 Brothers Tire City, Garcia-Ramos encountered his former boss, Fernando Monge, 44, of Silver Spring, and stabbed the man to death, police said. The murder was caught on a surveillance video.
Garcia-Ramos entered an Alford plea in June to first-degree murder, allowing him to deny his guilt while acknowledging the state had enough evidence to convict him. He is not a U.S. citizen and will be deported to Mexico after serving his sentence, police said.
State police were notified about 10:30 a.m. Saturday after prison officials verified the escape and placed more than 2,000 inmates on lockdown at the institution.
Troopers began an immediate search using K-9 units and a helicopter, but no sightings were reported by Monday.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Hagerstown, Boonsboro and Natural Resources Police were helping in the search and law enforcement agencies in neighboring states, as well as federal authorities, were notified.
Authorities were working to secure the victims’ family and witnesses.
