Jail-Issue Shoes Trip Up Prisoner’s Attempt at Escape
The escape of a minimum-security prisoner from the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho in Saugus was foiled Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said, when deputies recognized his jail-issue work shoes as he walked down the street.
Lasaro Rodriguez, 36, was spotted walking along Tourney Road near the intersection of Magic Mountain Parkway and the Golden State Freeway about 12:30 p.m., said Deputy Hal Grant. Rodriguez had changed from his green prison jump suit and donned a white T-shirt and blue jeans, but his shoes gave him away, Grant said.
Rodriguez denied that he was a prisoner, but was taken into custody. A fingerprint check at the sheriff’s Santa Clarita substation showed that he had been arrested on a petty theft charge Aug. 10 and was scheduled to serve his sentence at the honor ranch until April 14, Grant said.
Rodriguez had been assigned to the Saugus institution’s hog farm and was last accounted for at 8 a.m., Grant said.
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