Surveillance footage captured the horrifying moment an inmate attempted to escape custody by killing an Iowa deputy and wounding another officer in May.
Wesley Correa-Carmenaty, 24, who pleaded guilty to murder and 11 other counts for killing western Iowa Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Burbridge and wounding Deputy Pat Morgan during a jail escape, was sentenced to life in prison without parole last week.
Recently released surveillance video of the brutal attack showed the two officers preparing to unlock their prisoner transport van at the Pottawattamie County Jail when the fatal assault occurred.
Authorities said Correa-Carmenaty was in handcuffs and leg shackles during the transport, but managed to unlock them by the time the van reached the jail.
Surveillance footage captured the horrifying moment an inmate attempted to escape custody by killing an Iowa deputy and wounding another officer in May. Iowa Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Burbridge (bottom right) was killed and Deputy Pat Morgan (bottom left) was injured
In the video, Correa-Carmenaty is seen attacking Burbridge (top left) with two handmade shanks
He then managed to get into the cab of the van (bottom left) as Morgan (bottom left) runs over to help
Correa-Carmenaty (pictured on August 15), who used a Spanish interpreter, showed little emotion throughout the hearing last Tuesday, smiling and nodding as he entered pleas to each count
In the video, Correa-Carmenaty is seen attacking Burbridge with two handmade shanks before managing to get into the cab of the van as Morgan runs over to help.
Morgan is seen trying to apprehend Correa-Carmenaty, who was able to grab a service weapon inside the vehicle.
As Burbridge ran over to the passenger side door of the van, Correa-Carmenaty shot him in the head.
Correa-Carmenaty then shot Morgan in the abdomen once before the gun jammed.
The video then shows Correa-Carmenaty push Morgan onto the ground, start the van and crash through the jail garage door to escape.
Another inmate, who was in the back of the van, managed to jump out while the shocking escape occurred. Toward the end of the video, the inmate runs over to Morgan in what appeared to be an attempt to help him.
Morgan survived the horrific attack but Burbridge died at the scene.
On August 15, Pottawattamie County Attorney Matthew Wilber explained publicly for the first time during court that Correa-Carmenaty had managed to unlock his shackles by hiding a handcuff key obtained from another inmate in his hair.
He was also armed with the two handmade shanks, at least one fashioned from a toothbrush, which he used to slash Burbridge in the face, neck and arms during the attack.
The week before Correa-Carmenaty was sentenced, he changed his pleas to guilty to first-degree murder, attempted murder, escape, kidnapping and other crimes.
Morgan is seen trying to apprehend Correa-Carmenaty, who was able to grab a service weapon inside the vehicle. As Burbridge (bottom right) ran over to the passenger side door of the van, Correa-Carmenaty shot him in the head
Correa-Carmenaty then shot Morgan (pictured lying against the wall) in the abdomen once before the gun jammed. The video then shows Correa-Carmenaty push Morgan onto the ground, start the van and crash through the garage door (pictured) to escape
Deputy Pat Morgan (right) survived the horrific attack but Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Burbridge (left) died at the scene
A week later he was sentenced to life in prison.
Wilber said the sentence of life plus 50 years in prison, to be served after Correa-Carmenaty’s 45-year sentence for a previous crime, will ensure that he never draws a breath as a free man again.
Even if Correa-Carmenaty’s sentence is ever commuted, he would still face 50 more years in prison.
Correa-Carmenaty, who used a Spanish interpreter, showed little emotion throughout the hearing last Tuesday, smiling and nodding as he entered pleas to each count.
Prosecutors noted that he was offered no plea agreement. Iowa has no death penalty.
The judge ordered Correa-Carmenaty’s life sentence to be served after he finishes the 45-year sentence he received earlier this year for a separate murder.
Judge James Heckerman also issued sentences totaling 175 years for other counts ranging from attempted murder and kidnapping to robbery and weapons counts as part of the jail escape.
‘The reason for the sentence is pretty simple – to guarantee that the defendant will spend the rest of his life in prison,’ Heckerman said. ‘It’s clear… that he’s an extreme threat to society.’
The judge ordered Correa-Carmenaty’s life sentence to be served after he finishes the 45-year sentence he received earlier this year for a separate murder
Judge James Heckerman also issued sentences totaling 175 years for other counts ranging from attempted murder and kidnapping to robbery and weapons counts as part of the jail escape
Three of Burbridge’s children spoke at the hearing last week, each of them labeling Correa-Carmenaty ‘a monster,’ and fighting tears as they described their father as a loving parent. Kelsey Brant (pictured), Burbridge’s stepdaughter, openly cried in court
Correa-Carmenaty (pictured on May 10) had just been sentenced on May 1 in the unrelated murder case and was being taken from the courthouse to the Pottawattamie County Jail when the fatal assault occurred, officials said
Correa-Carmenaty had just been sentenced on May 1 in the unrelated murder case and was being taken from the courthouse to the Pottawattamie County Jail when the fatal assault occurred, officials said.
Wilber said Correa-Carmenaty took both deputies’ guns, ammunition and the keys to the van, then drove the transport van through a jail garage door, abandoning it a few blocks away.
Authorities said he tried to carjack a truck using the gun, which he did not know how to operate, accidentally ejecting the weapon’s 15-round clip.
With one round left in the chamber, he shot and wounded a man inside the truck, which sped off.
Correa-Carmenaty apologized to Burbridge’s family, saying he liked Burbridge. ‘It was not intentional. I was trying to escape’
A few minutes later, he carjacked a woman and drove across the state border into Omaha, Nebraska, where he let her go.
He was arrested there a short time later after crashing during a high-speed chase with police.
‘But for an issue with the first gun he had and his inability to use the second, this could be a case where four, five or even more were killed,’ Wilber told the judge.
Three of Burbridge’s children spoke at the hearing last week, each of them labeling Correa-Carmenaty ‘a monster,’ and fighting tears as they described their father as a loving parent.
Kelsey Brant, Burbridge’s stepdaughter, openly cried as she described getting the frantic call from her mother the day Burbridge was shot.
‘You’re a monster,’ she said. ‘I know you have no remorse for anything you’ve done or the pain you’ve caused.’
Correa-Carmenaty apologized to Burbridge’s family, saying he liked Burbridge.
‘In reality, I liked him. He was one of the people who would ask you, “How is your case going?”‘ he said through the interpreter, who appeared to be fighting her own emotions as she relayed Correa-Carmenaty’s words.
‘It was not intentional. I was trying to escape.’