EASY COME, EASY GO

Virginia Inmates Stage Jailbreak Using Toothbrush—Only to Be Caught at IHOP

John M. Garza and Arley V. Nemo used “primitive-made tools” to dig a hole through a wall in a prison in Newport News, Virginia.

Where would you go after using a toothbrush to stage a daring escape from prison? For two Virginia criminals, the answer was IHOP—and it cost them their freedom. John M. Garza and Arley V. Nemo used “primitive-made tools” fashioned from a toothbrush and a metal object to dig a hole through a wall in a jail in Newport News, Virginia, according to the Newport News Sheriff’s Office. The pair then climbed multiple walls as they mounted their great escape—but their freedom didn’t last long. The very next morning, the fugitives were tracked down to an IHOP in Hampton, Virginia, where they were taken back into custody. “I’m thankful for the citizens who observed Garza and Nemo at the IHOP and notified law enforcement. It reinforces what we always say ‘see something, say something,’” Newport News Sheriff Gabe Morgan said in a news release.