Canyon County escapee still at large; woman charged with helping him

Jose Esteban Coronado used a jail-issued razor to cut a hole in a minimum-security structure and escape from the Canyon County Jail in Caldwell Saturday night, jail Capt. Daren Ward said.

On Sunday, the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office arrested Vilma Lopez, 29, of Nampa on a conspiracy charge for allegedly helping Coronado escape. She remained in the Canyon County jail Monday evening, and Ward said the investigation into her involvement is ongoing.

Coronado cut through two layers of tent-like fabric and 18 inches of insulation between the fabric layers in the building, which is a “sprung structure” made by stretching a fabric membrane over a frame, Ward said.

The sheriff’s office is reviewing its security practices in the wake of the escape, he said. County spokesman Joe Decker said Sheriff Kieran Donahue has requested a meeting with the county commissioners to discuss structural changes that could prevent similar incidents in the future if the structure is going to continue to be used for offenders beyond the work-release inmates that it was originally designed for.

Coronado was being held in the jail on charges of violating a no-contact order. He is described as 6 feet tall and 220 pounds with brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen wearing the jail’s orange shirt and pants, and the CCSO says he may be around Nampa or on his way to the Portland area. The sheriff’s office is cautioning people to be careful is they see Coronado, who reportedly told authorities that he would “shoot it out” with them if approached.

Anyone who sees Coronado is asked to call their local law enforcement agency or the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office at 208-454-7531.

This story was originally published February 1, 2016 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Canyon County escapee still at large; woman charged with helping him."