Inmate Who Escaped From El Cajon Jail Is Captured
A burglary suspect who escaped from the County Jail in El Cajon last month by climbing out a hole in the building’s wall and descending on a rope made from sheets was captured Monday.
John J. Pugh, 36, was caught by San Diego police about 11:20 a.m. after a civilian reported seeing him in an alley near 29th Street and Imperial Avenue, a San Diego County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said.
Pugh, of the 3600 block of Oceanview Boulevard, was being held without bail in County Jail downtown on suspicion of escape, in addition to the previous charges of burglary and possession of stolen property, the spokesman said.
El Cajon jail deputies, on the morning of July 18, discovered a large hole on the seventh floor of the nine-story building, with a 120-foot rope made of bed sheets dangling out of it.
After a check of prisoners, deputies realized that Pugh had escaped by climbing through a small ceiling vent and kicking a hole in the building’s exterior wall.
Pugh was the first man to escape the jail, built in 1983.
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