Gonzalo Artemio Lopez, 46, was shot dead by Leon County Sheriff’s Office after breaking out of a prison bus

Lopez was serving a life sentence for the 2005 murder of Jose Guadalupe Ramirez whose death was ordered because he was indebted to a Mexican drug cartel

The inmate who had just received a second life sentence broke out three weeks ago while being transported to a medical appointment

Fugitive may have murdered a family before he was killed by cops

He was accused of killing a family of five at their rural weekend cabin near Houston before stealing their truck 

He was tracked by cops when the vehicle was spotted in the San Antonio area before a shootout ensued

An escaped inmate with links to the Mexican Mafia has been killed in a shootout with police after three weeks on the run in Jourdanton, Texas.
Gonzalo Artemio Lopez, 46, was shot dead by Leon County Sheriff’s deputies when they crossed paths three weeks after breaking out of a prison bus in the area. Officers said the vicious thug was ‘captured and deceased’ in the San Antonio area after a huge manhunt following a brutal killing spree.
The convict was accused of killing a family of five at their rural weekend cabin near Houston before stealing their truck and continuing on the run last month.
He was then was tracked by cops when the vehicle was spotted in the San Antonio area before a shootout ensued and he was killed.
Officers said he was carrying an AR-15 and a handgun during the fighting, which were believed to have been stolen from his victims.

The killer bolted from custody in rural Leon County between Dallas and Houston, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said, three weeks ago. Officials said he somehow freed himself from his hand and leg restraints, cut through the expanded metal of the cage and crawled from the bottom. while being transported to a medical checkup, shackled in the caged section of a prison bus
Lopez was being taken in a a caged area of the bus from a prison in Gatesville to one in Huntsville for a medical appointment on May 12, spurning a widespread manhunt.
The images released by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice show Gonzalo Lopez as he was being escorted onto a bus on the morning of May 12.
He was being transported from the Alfred Hughes Unit outside of Gatesville in central Texas to a prison medical facility in Huntsville. He was being held in a separate, caged area of ​​the bus designed for high-risk inmates, authorities said.
During the trip, Lopez managed to break free from his restraints, cut through a metal door and crawled through the bottom of the cage, officials said.

He then attacked the driver, who stopped the bus and got into an altercation with Lopez, and they both eventually got off the bus. He allegedly stabbed the bus driver in the chest and a hand.
A second officer at the rear of the bus then exited and approached Lopez, who got back on the bus and started driving down the road.
The officers fired at Lopez and disabled the bus by shooting the rear tire, the department said. The bus then traveled a short distance before leaving the roadway, where Lopez got out and ran into the woods.

Since then the convicted murderer has been the subject of an intensive manhunt in the border area and beyond.
On Thursday afternoon, the fugitive shot and killed a family of five in Centerville, Leon County, before stealing their truck to aid his escape. Authorities said they found the bodies of two adults and three children at a weekend cabin along Texas Route 7 west of Centerville.
The family, which was from the Houston area, was thought to have arrived Thursday morning at the cabin, which they owned, TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark said.
On Thursday afternoon authorities said the family’s white 1999 Chevrolet Silverado with damage to the driver’s side and the Texas license plate DPV4520 was missing and they believe Lopez stole the truck and was armed.  
The five are believed to have been killed Thursday afternoon and had no link to Lopez, he said. Authorities warned Lopez was extremely dangerous and police were working to apprehend him immediately. 
‘I would just say Lopez is a person that does not care. He is an individual that has obviously killed, and has just killed.
‘And so I think law enforcement will take all the precautions necessary to bring him into custody and bring him to justice,’ Clark said at a late-night news conference.

In March 2005, Jose Guadalupe Ramirez, 37, was kidnapped from his home by two men, one of them being Lopez, who killed the victim with a pickaxe.
Lopez was later arrested and identified after one of the victim’s relatives recognized him, according to Valley Central.
After his arrest, Lopez confessed the location of Ramirez’s body to police.
He also revealed that he was ordered to kill Ramirez by a drug cartel who the victim owed money.
He was handed a life-sentence for his role in the murder. 

Lopez was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, incarcerated at the Alfred Hughes TDCJ unit in Gatesville, Texas.
In 2004, Lopez was involved in an attempted murder of a deputy who was part of the Webb County Sheriff’s office
He was convicted on Wednesday of attempted capital murder after several hours of deliberation and was handed another life-term behind bars, according to KGNS TV.