Inmate Escapes From Prison During Visit With Wife

A minimum-security inmate escaped Thursday from the California Institution for Men here during a conjugal visit with his wife, who reported him missing, authorities said.

James Darryl Witt, 37, convicted of perjury and sentenced last May, was reported missing around 3 a.m., prison spokesman John Dovey said.

“We’re confident we can apprehend the guy in the near future,” he said.

Dovey said the wife, whose name was withheld, reported that Witt feigned an injury, then said he was going for help. When he failed to return, she reported him missing.

The 6-foot, 150-pound Witt, with a full brown beard and brown hair, was wearing tennis shoes, blue jeans and a blue sweat shirt when he vanished, Dovey said.

It was the ninth escape from the Chino prison since June, 1983, when inmate Kevin Cooper fled and three members of a Chino Hills family and a friend were murdered. Cooper was captured and convicted in the slayings.