Killer's mother accused of helping escape plot

WAURIKA, Okla. -- The mother of a convicted killer who escaped last month from a Texas jail was arrested for allegedly sneaking hacksaw blades to her son and another inmate for a second escape, officials said.

Officers took Cherese Smith, who is also known as Cherese Bagwell, into custody late Wednesday in Jefferson County in southern Oklahoma. The alleged escape plan was never carried out.

Prosecutors said the arrest prevented the escape of Joshua Bagwell and Curtis Gambill, who were both convicted of the 1996 shotgun slaying of a 16-year-old cheerleader.

According to Sheriff Harvey Burkhart, Smith bought the hacksaw blades after a jailhouse visit Wednesday and gave them to the men at another meeting later the same day. The blades were found in their cells, he said.

Burkhart said Smith had also obtained two assault rifles, camping equipment and aerial maps.

An initial court appearance was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

KFDX-TV of Wichita Falls, Texas, reported that Smith faces a charge of conspiracy to commit a felony.

Bagwell and Gambill fled the Montague County Jail along with Charles Jordan and Chrystal Soto after overpowering a jailer on Jan. 28. Jordan and Soto were being held in the November slaying of an elderly couple.

The escape triggered a massive search along the Oklahoma-Texas border that ended 10 days later when the four inmates were captured near Ardmore.

All four remain jailed in Carter County on charges of burglary and unauthorized use of a vehicle for their alleged car thefts while on the lam.

Bagwell and Gambill also face kidnapping charges for holding a convenience store owner hostage before they surrendered.