Last two of ‘Texas 7’ fugitives surrender

The hunt for the escapees, who became known as the ‘‘Texas Seven’’ took on an air of the Wild West, prompting comparisons with the 1930s infamous bank robbers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker.

Police allowed the duo to speak with a television reporter who was in the command post at the hotel because of the rapport the police had established with the two during about five hours of negotiations by telephone, Colorado Springs police department spokesman Lt. Skip Arms told reporters.

‘‘We feel very fortunate that this happened without injury to anybody,’’ Arms said moments after Patrick Murphy, 39, and Donald Newbury, 38, walked out of a Holiday Inn hotel. Newbury was serving a 99-year sentence for armed robbery and Murphy was serving a 50-year sentence for aggravated sexual assault. The hotel they were holed up in was very close to wherethey had abandoned a brown van that was discovered on Tuesday morning.

The two, who were shirtless, were handcuffed in the chilly pre-dawn temperatures and taken away to jail. Four of their comrades were captured by police on Monday ina trailer park in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains about 32 km from where the two surrendered early on Wednesday. A seventh escapee shot himself to death on Monday.

The two were expected to be arraigned later on Wednesday, but no definite plans had been set. The two were taken away to a local jail to be booked. Their four comrades were in custody in a nearby jail in Teller County.

The seven were wanted for killing a police officer in Irving, Texas in a Christmas Eve robbery at a sporting goods store where cash and weapons were taken, allowing the fugitives to finance their life on the run. Texas officials have said they plan to seek the death penalty for the slaying of the police officer.

But all Murphy and Newbury wanted to talk about in the interview was their view of the Texas prison system. ‘‘Maybe this will open the eyes of some people,’’ Murphy said.

Newbury complained that he had to ‘‘threaten to beat up’’ his attorney so he could get another one who would see him in prison. He complained that he was sent to prison for 99 years for a robbery that netted $68.

The two said they picked Colorado to hide out at random because they were trying to get away from a blizzard in Texas. The seven broke out of prison on December 13 in an escape that proved an embarrassment for Texas officials.Each escapee spoke for five minutes with local television reporter Eric Singer of KTTV. Singer, in a very calm voice, reminded them of their promise to surrender.