Local News in Brief : Quick Exit, Quick Capture
Authorities at the Torrance courthouse said John Ybarra could not have picked a worse time to make a run for freedom.
Ybarra, 38, was ordered to jail Monday afternoon by South Bay Municipal Court Commissioner Andrew C. Kauffman for violating probation on an indecent exposure conviction.
He was about to be handcuffed by Deputy Marshal Victor Rockafellor when he broke free and ran out the back door of the courthouse and into a parking lot, according to Lt. Nick Uruburu of the marshal’s office.
What Ybarra didn’t know was that he was running straight for the Torrance Police Department--just as more than 20 officers were leaving the station for the evening shift.
The officers saw Ybarra running from Rockafellor and joined in the chase. Rockafellor fired three shots, but Ybarra kept running through a field until he was blocked by several of the Torrance officers and their squad cars.
He now faces a charge of attempted escape.
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