Grand Jury Finds Failure to Follow Jail Rules Led to Escape

Orange County Jail deputies violated their own policies by not conducting a search and not accurately counting their prisoners on the night almost 4 weeks ago that five inmates escaped from a rooftop recreation area, the Orange County Grand Jury concluded in a report released Friday.

The grand jury also found that the deputies’ laxity in adhering to proper security measures was common enough that the inmates apparently considered it a flaw they could exploit.

“You have to wonder if at certain times--or routinely maybe--the rules weren’t followed to the letter,” said Jodeane C. Harrod, chairwoman of the grand jury’s Criminal Justice Committee.

The grand jury’s report concluded that the Sheriff’s Department’s security policies and procedures “appear adequate, if followed.”

But it said the procedures were violated when deputies failed to conduct a search of the inmates before they were allowed into the rooftop recreation area, when they did not accurately count the inmates as they left the roof and by the failure to maintain two deputies on the roof the whole time the inmates were there.

The grand jury’s report recommended better adherence to already established security policies, additional reinforcement of fencing in the recreation area and more lights on the roof to illuminate dark areas.

Undersheriff Raul Ramos said the grand jury’s report was a “fair and accurate assessment of the situation” and that the department intends to implement all of the grand jury’s recommendations.

The escape took place about 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 when 68 inmates were on the roof of the jail for a recreation period. Five inmates escaped by using metal towel rods to pry a 14-inch hole in the fence and then rappelling from the top of the four-story building on a rope made of knotted bed sheets, the report said.

One of the inmates broke his leg during the escape in a fall to another rooftop and was recaptured. Another turned himself in on Thanksgiving Day. Two other escapees were recently captured in Denver, where they have been charged with committing several robberies during their freedom.

One inmate charged with armed robbery, Michael Taylor, also known as Anthony Gianetti, is still at large.

Because the count of the inmates was not accurate, the Sheriff’s Department did not discover the escape until after 8 p.m. when a passer-by noticed a man on the street in an Orange County Jail jumpsuit.

The report also said: “On at least three occasions during the hour in which the escape was made, there was only one deputy in the recreation area. (That) . . . deputy had to remain in the glassed-in observation area for his own safety, thus creating an opportunity for escape.”

Department policy requires that two deputies be on the roof when inmates are present.

“If everyone did exactly as everyone was supposed to at all times, it probably couldn’t have happened,” Harrod said.

Ramos said the Sheriff’s Department is conducting its own investigation of the escape.

“The grand jury is saying that the policies and procedures that were in place were adequate, and they’re recommending that we follow them,” Ramos said. “We wholeheartedly agree.”