Captured murderer confesses some, but not all

Sunday, April 30, 2000 | 12:41 p.m.

James Prestridge, 39, was caught without incident outside a Reno store as he walked back to a truck he had stolen.

He and convicted robber John Doran escaped March 25 in Southern California while being transported by van from Nevada prisons to facilities in other states.

Doran, 29, was found dead south of Tijuana a few days after they overpowered two guards employed by a transport company that moves inmates between states.

As he was escorted Friday evening out of the Reno police station, Prestridge told reporters he did not kill Doran but committed crimes to survive. He didn't elaborate.

Asked what he did over the last month, Prestridge replied, "Spent a little time in Mexico, spent a little time in Fresno, and then back here."

An investigation is under way into the crimes, and police were unsure what additional charges he may face.

Prestridge, who was serving a life sentence for the 1989 murder of a Reno pizza parlor employee, was taken Friday night to the Nevada State Prison in Carson City.

After overpowering the two guards, Prestridge and Doran drove the Extraditions International van around before abandoning it in Chula Vista, Calif., just north of the Mexico border.