Historedia
AmericasEvent

Billy the Kid escapes from Lincoln County Jail in Mesilla, killing two guards

When
1881
Where
Lincoln County Jail
Episodes
1

Billy the Kid escaped from the Lincoln County Jail in Mesilla on April 28, 1881, killing deputies James Bell and Robert Ollinger. He stole a horse and fled, defying a death sentence imposed earlier that month. The escape occurred while Sheriff Pat Garrett was away collecting taxes, leaving Bell alone with Bonney.

Episodes

  1. April 28, 1881 · Lincoln County JailEscape from Lincoln County Jail

    Bonney killed deputies Bell and Ollinger on April 28, 1881, in Mesilla, escaping custody while Sheriff Garrett was away.

Background and detail

The Escape. On the evening of April 28, 1881, Deputy Bob Olinger took five prisoners for a meal, leaving James Bell alone with Bonney at the jail. Sheriff Pat Garrett was in White Oaks collecting taxes. Bonney killed Bell and Ollinger, stole a horse, and rode out of town, escaping his impending execution.

Aftermath. The escape allowed Bonney to evade the death sentence scheduled for May 13, 1881. He remained at large until July 14, 1881, when Sheriff Garrett tracked him to Fort Sumner and killed him. The event marked a critical turning point in the final phase of the Lincoln County War.

People involved

Sources

  1. Billy the Kid Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-21
  2. Lincoln County War Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-25

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.