The State - News from March 18, 1987

Three prisoners escaped from the Butte County Jail in Oroville, bringing the number of escapees from the facility to nine in the last four months. The men escaped from the minimum-security dormitory facility through ventilation shafts, Sheriff Leroy Wood said. The fugitives were identified as Gerald Dearman, 18, who was serving time for robbery and grand theft; Gary Bowman, 21, jailed for resisting arrest and parole violations, and David Allen, 28, who was behind bars for robbery and receiving stolen property. Wood said that five of the last nine escaped convicts have been captured. The last breakout was on Jan. 8, when three men escaped through a ventilation shaft.