Orange County sheriff outlines security upgrades after jail escape earlier this year

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has spent nearly $570,000 to “harden” its Central Men’s Jail and needs an additional $3 million for more upgrades — months after the January escape of three inmates gained national attention and led to a massive statewide manhunt.

Officials have long conceded that the Santa Ana jail, built in 1968, was in desperate need of repairs. But public pressure to modernize mounted when prisoners Bac Duong, Hossein Nayeri and Jonathan Tieu cut through steel bars, squeezed through plumbing tunnels, rappelled off a roof and fled at dawn on Jan. 22 — 15 hours before authorities noticed their absence.

Duong surrendered seven days after the jailbreak and officers captured his alleged accomplices on the eighth day, acting on a tip from a homeless man who saw the pair hiding in a van in San Francisco.

At a news conference Friday, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens outlined changes designed to prevent another escape at the facility.

She detailed improvements in three areas: those made immediately after the escape; those made in the last six months; and others being planned but are dependent on funding.

Immediately after the escape, officials secured points of exit used by the three inmates, including the area where prisoners are housed and plumbing tunnels, Hutchens said.

A team of civilian and sworn staff was formed to review inmate count procedures and conduct an inventory — from basement to roof, twice — looking at every tool required for daily maintenance work that enters and exits the maximum-security facility.

Officials still do not know what tools were used to cut through prison bars. After searches turned up nothing, they believe the escapees took those items with them, Hutchens said.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Mark Stichter said the trio had been planning their getaway for at least four months.

Over the last six months, officials added more lighting outside the building as well as inside the plumbing tunnels to boost visibility. Workers installed criss-cross metal grills on the plumbing wall vents and motion-sensor video cameras designed to set off alarms when movement is detected. A K-9 dog named Mercy now patrols the premises sniffing for drugs and cellphones. An ongoing investigation revealed that the fugitives used such a phone to plan their escape, Hutchens said.

Her team also introduced radio-frequency ID technology to track inmate movement from classrooms, the cafeteria and other areas used for medical care and religious counseling. Officials have opened a second investigation focusing on policies and procedures inside the department. Sheriff’s Lt. Dave Sawyer, who oversees investigations, said there is “not one sliver of evidence” that any member of the staff had any involvement in the escape.

Authorities initially arrested an English-language instructor who taught at the jail on suspicion of being connected to the escape, alleging that she provided “critical planning tools,” among them Google Earth aerial maps of the facility.

Citing insufficient evidence to charge the woman, officials later released her.

Inside the jail, sheriff’s supervisors have also examined the clothing exchange and linen exchange procedures that are used to prevent suicides or escapes. Before fleeing, the fugitives reportedly tied towels and bedsheets together, forming a makeshift rope that allowed them to rappel from the roof, landing on the street four stories below.

Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, appearing with Hutchens and her staff Friday, noted the detailed improvements, adding that “her swift actions demonstrate how seriously they take this issue.”

He pledged to push for increased funding for future upgrades.

The nearly $570,000 already spent comes from the current departmental budget. In the future, officials also want to install extra metal detectors; expand radio-frequency ID technology to all Orange County jail sites; add or improve cameras on jail rooftops; and enclose the Central Men’s Jail roof.

Some improvements remain under wraps “in order not to compromise security,” Hutchens said.

Across the county, more than 6,000 inmates are housed at five jails that have a maximum capacity of 7,000. The others are the James A. Musick Facility, also called The Farm; Theo Lacy Jail; the IRC, or Intake/Release Center; and the Central Women’s Jail.

The inmates who fled are now housed at three separate jails and have been classified as escape risks.

anh.do@latimes.com

@newsterrier

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