Original Article Sunday, November 20, 2005 Last updated 7:30 a.m. PT Honduran teen escapes prison for 5th time By FREDDY CUEVAS ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- A 16-year-old boy accused of killing a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent has escaped from a juvenile prison for the fifth time in three years - just as he promised, an official said Saturday. Herlan Colindres, a street gang member implicated in 16 other killings, slipped out of the crumbling juvenile rehabilitation center in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa on Friday, said Napoleon Nazar, national police director of criminal investigations. Colindres and his 13-year-old bodyguard were arrested in July in the killing of Michael Timothy Markey, a DEA agent who was shot to death July 29 while visiting a temple dedicated to Honduras' patron saint outside of Tegucigalpa. It was Colindres' second escape in less than four months - and the fifth in three years - from the same prison, where bricks can easily be chipped from the walls. On Aug. 7, he weakened the metal bars of his cell with a nail file and fled - five days after boasting to reporters, "I will escape to kill all of the journalists." He was captured the same day while hitchhiking. After that, the government built him a brick-walled cell with a private bathroom, watched by six guards. It was unclear how he broke out of that cell. "We think other imprisoned youths helped him get out," Nazar said. Colindres had been jailed previously in the killings of rival youth gang members, but was able to escape within days. He has denied involvement in Markey's death. The teen had previously been identified as 13-year-old Erlan Colindres, but authorities said Saturday he was three years older than believed and had modified the spelling of his first name. Honduran authorities said Markey, 44, who was based in El Paso, Texas, had been in the Central American country training police in drug interdiction efforts. Colindres apparently has had to fend for himself from a young age. Authorities say his mother is bedridden and the whereabouts of his father are unknown. On Aug. 2, he told reporters, "I don't care if I die outside, but I have to get out of here." http://newsfromrussia.com/accidents/2005/11/20/68033.html Honduras: teen accused of killing DEA agent escapes youth correction facility 00:26 2005-11-20 A teen accused of killing a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent and implicated in 16 other slayings has escaped from a youth correction facility just as he promised he would officials said Saturday. Herlan Colindres, a 16-year-old street gang member, slipped out of a rehabilitation center housing 156 youths outside the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa on Friday night, authorities said. Colindres and his 13-year-old bodyguard Manuel Romero were arrested in July in connection with the murder of DEA agent Michael Timothy Markey outside Tegucigalpa at a temple dedicated to Honduras' patron saint. He had previously been identified as 13-year-old Erlan Colindres, but authorities said Saturday he was three years older than believed and had modified the spelling of his first name. Authorities said Markey, 44, who was based in El Paso, Texas, came to Honduras to train local drug police. Friday was the fifth time in three years that Colindres has escaped from the crumbling facility, where bricks can easily be chipped from the walls. In August, after threatening to escape and kill journalists, he weakened the metal bars of his cell with a nail file and fled. Colindres was quickly captured, however, while hitchhiking along a nearby highway. Following that incident, the government built him a special brick-walled cell with a private bathroom. It was unclear how he got out of the new cell, which was watched by six guards. "We think other imprisoned youths helped him get out," Napoleon Nazar, director of criminal investigation, said in an interview. Further details of the escape were not released. The government has estimated that 40,000 youths in Honduras belong to the rival Mara Salvatrucha and Mara 18 gangs, which have terrorized much of the country since 1996. In an attempt to curb the violence, the Honduran government instituted a zero-tolerance law that makes gang membership illegal, and has jailed thousands of youngsters for little more than having tattoos. Police said Colindres was the leader of a Mara 18 affiliate known as Los Puchos. He is suspected of involvement in 16 killings, most of them gang-related, reported AP. P.T.