Wardens, Guards Charged in Escape at Ensenada Jail

Two wardens, an ex-deputy warden and seven guards at the municipal jail in Ensenada have been formally charged with negligence in connection with the escape of 66 prisoners last week, Mexican officials said Friday.

A Baja California state judge could sentence all 10 to jail terms of between 4 and 12 years, according to Ensenada Mayor Ernesto Ruffo Appel. The 10 are being held by the Baja California state judicial police.

Ruffo said that 30 of the 66 prisoners who escaped on June 15 are still at large while 30 have been captured and 6 turned themselves in. Convicted murderers, rapists and drug traffickers were among the escapees, officials said.

Police are still investigating the possibility that official corruption could have been involved in the escape, Ruffo said. Mexican officials have said that it was unlikely that the escape could have succeeded without inside help.

Charged in connection with the escape, were warden Manuel Becerra Mejia, deputy warden Olegario Diaz, and Roberto Acosta, a former warden who was removed before the escape because of security problems at the facility. Also charged were all seven guards on duty at the time of the escape.

The prisoners escaped over a three-hour period during daylight. They fled through a drainage tunnel that led out of the jail. The 66 prisoners represented more than a fifth of the jail’s population.