'Texas 7' Ringleader George Rivas
Jan. 22 -- Charming, fearless and shrewd. That’s how authorities describe George Rivas, the alleged ringleader of the “Texas Seven.”
He's the one fugitive who has gotten the most attention ever since the men devised a plan to break out of a Texas prison together, and did so with apparent ease. He's the one authorities believe led escapees as they allegedly stole at least one automatic rifle, 14 .357-caliber Magnum pistols and 238 rounds of ammunition during their escape, and numerous guns from a sports store while on the run.
He was said to have had a powerful hold on the other escapees. But now he is among the four captured members, along with Michael Rodriguez, Randy Halprin and Joseph Garcia. A fifth, Larry Harper, is dead, and police are still looking for the two remaining fugitives, Donald Newbury and Patrick Murphy.
"George is a leader," says Richard Coons, Rivas' psychiatrist. "He's methodical. He is a manipulator. He has a smooth story that he can tell."
Those who know Rivas believe he loved the media attention surrounding the manhunt, and especially the successful prison break.
"I think George is going to absorb that and think, 'They are right, I am equal to the Dillingers, the Capones, all those big-time guys,'" says Louis Aguillar, defense attorney. "'That's me. I broke out of prison. They didn't."
Aggravated Robbery and Kidnapping
Rivas' record includes numerous counts of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, and aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon. The Texas Seven's alleged robbery of an Oshman's sporting goods store in Irving, Texas, would fit Rivas' past.
According to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records, Rivas, in 1993, was found guilty of robbing an Oshman's store during which Rivas approached one victim and ordered him to get handcuffs from a display and handcuff himself and five others to a large piece of machinery. Another victim was told to remove the cash from the cash register and then ordered to handcuff herself to the others. Then he and his codefendants then fled the scene.
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