Convict Escapes With 'Eddie Murphy' ID

July 14, 2001 -- A convicted violent criminal remains at large after flashing jail security officials a fake I.D. bearing an apparently honest-looking face — the actor Eddie Murphy's.

Hours after he was convicted of attempted murder, Kevin Jerome Pullum, 30, walked out of the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail on July 6 by wearing civilian clothes and flashing the fake identification, police said.

Pullum acted as his own attorney, giving him access to copy machines and newspapers, and was allowed to wear civilian clothing to court, police said. They believe he kept the street clothes after he was found guilty of shooting a man six times in 1999.

"He was reissued his jail clothing," Sheriff's Deputy Faye Bugarin said. "His civilian clothing should have been collected at that time, but apparently it wasn't. The inmate managed to place his jail clothing over his civilian clothing before he was placed on the transportation bus.

"Pullum managed to remove his jail clothing and produce what appeared to be a legitimate civilian photograph identification card," Bugarin told ABC Radio.

Police told the Associated Press a jail informant said Pullam got the picture of Murphy from an ad for the film Dr. Dolittle 2. But investigators still are checking into just how Pullum produced the fake jail employee identification.