3 Accused Killers’ Freedom Is Short-Lived : 4th Prisoner Also Recaptured After Fleeing Placer County Jail

Hours after they escaped from the Placer County Jail, four prisoners, including three accused murderers, were recaptured by police.

Sheriff’s Lt. Nick Mileur said Douglas Mozingo, David Dominguez and Frank Morrell were caught after they crashed a stolen car after a chase in northern Sacramento County.

The fourth prisoner, George Newton, 25, was captured in another stolen car in Newcastle at 3:22 a.m., the Sheriff’s Department said.

Mozingo, 32, is accused of spraying the Mother Lode Bar in Sacramento with gunfire in October, 1982, killing Rhonda Lyons, 26; Pamela McCoy, 27, and Randall Sherwood, 28. Nine others were wounded.

Newton and Dominguez, both 23, were also being held on murder charges. Newton was charged with killing a Concord man whose body was found near the American River in August, 1984. Dominguez was accused of a September, 1984, double slaying in Roseville.

Morrell, a parolee from Oregon, was in jail on a charge of possessing stolen property, Mileur said.

The four men were discovered missing from the new $5-million County Jail about 9:20 p.m. Friday.

“They apparently gained access to the recreation yard, went up the wall, apparently got to the roof and then went down the other side,” Mileur said.

He said about a dozen sheriff’s deputies, aided by dogs and a California Highway Patrol helicopter, were involved in the search. Officers from the Roseville and Rocklin police departments were involved in chasing the escape car, Mileur added.

All four prisoners were wearing orange jail overalls when they escaped, officers said.

Mileur said “there was no force used” in the escape.

He said he did not know why Mozingo was being held in the Placer County Jail since the crime occurred in Sacramento County. Deputy Atty. Gen. Raymond Brosterhaus, who has represented the state on appeal of Mozingo’s pretrial motions, said prisoners are often moved to other jails for security reasons or to protect them against threats.