Son of former Douglas County manager acquitted of escape

Friday, July 18, 1997 | 10:23 a.m.

An Elko District Court jury deliberated until midnight Thursday before finding Julio "Trey" Avael III innocent of escape and unauthorized absence from a place of confinement.

"Now I get a new chance at life; a second chance and I won't blow it," Avael said after the verdict was read.

Avael is the son of former Douglas County Manager Julio Avael, who is now city manager in Key West, Fla.

The younger Avael, who turned 20 this month, was serving a 1-4-year prison sentence for burglary when he fled the Carlin Conservation Camp in October.

Trey Avael claimed he was beaten during a fight with other inmates following a basketball game and fled because he feared for his life.

He hitchhiked across the northern Nevada desert, and periodically called his parents in Florida and Douglas County sheriff's deputies.

He was arrested the following day at his girlfriend's home in Gardnerville.

Sheriff's deputies said they saw no evidence that Avael had been assaulted.

But during the three-day trial in Elko, defense attorney Nathan Tod Young called witnesses who testified that Avael's clothes were bloody and he had a broken tooth.

Dominic LaCour testified that Avael's girlfriend called him and asked him to pick Avael up in Reno.

He said he stopped at his Carson City home on the way back and let Avael clean up and gave him a clean shirt.

LaCour said he gave Avael's broken tooth to a Douglas County sheriff's deputy when Avael left it in his car.

Avael remains in prison on the original burglary conviction. If convicted of escape, he could have faced up to an additional 10 years on each count.