Kidnaper Pulls Gun, Escapes From Court

A man serving three consecutive life sentences for kidnaping pulled a hidden pistol on a guard during a court appearance Monday and escaped from the Superior Court building in Pasadena after unlocking two security doors.

Danny Angel Vega, 26, escaped at about 9:15 a.m. and was whisked away by two accomplices who were waiting in a blue 1979 Toyota pickup truck parked across the street, Sheriff’s Department spokesman David Tellez said.

Vega, who had been in custody at the Los Angeles County Jail since August, 1985, was taken to Pasadena for a pretrial hearing in connection with charges that he threatened to kill the father of rock star David Lee Roth unless he was paid $25,000, Deputy Dist. Atty. Jeffrey Semow said.

Tellez said Sheriff’s Department officials do not know how Vega managed to get the .25-caliber pistol into the courthouse’s lockup area because he had been searched before leaving County Jail Monday morning and again just before entering the Pasadena facility.

Once at the courthouse, Vega was separated from the other prisoners and placed in a locked interview room with his legs chained together, Tellez said.

After a few minutes in the interview room, Vega complained of feeling sick and asked Deputy Roberta Rhodes, the only officer in the area, to take him to the bathroom, Tellez said.

Once the room was unlocked, Vega drew the pistol and, after a brief struggle, overpowered Rhodes and threw her into the interview room, Tellez said.

Rhodes, a 10-year veteran of the department, was only slightly bruised, he said.

Vega managed to unlock two steel security doors blocking him from freedom and “hobbled out to the parking lot,” where a passer-by spotted him jumping into the pickup truck--still chained and wearing his blue County Jail jump suit, Tellez said.

Tellez refused to explain how Vega could unlock the security doors but said, “He’s been in the interview room regularly. All he has is time to sit there and watch deputies go in and out.”

Three Counts

Vega was convicted in 1985 of three counts of robbery and three counts of kidnaping, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Carney said.

In each of the cases, which occurred in 1983, Vega had gone to a car dealer or person trying to sell a car and asked for a test drive, Carney said. During the test drive, Vega would pull a gun and steal the car, he said.

Vega was arrested but was released for a short time in 1985 after posting $100,000 bail, Carney said.

During his time out of jail, Semow said, Vega was involved in an extortion attempt in which he posed as a hit man who threatened to kill his victim unless he was paid off.

His victim in the extortion plot was Dr. Nathan H. Roth of San Marino, who managed to escape and call police, Carney said. The Monday hearing involved this case.

Vega was arrested again in August, 1985, and has been in County Jail since then, he said. Vega is also facing kidnaping charges in Los Angeles Superior Court for another incident, Semow said.

Semow said court records list several addresses for Vega, the most recent in Monterey Park.