2 Escapees Caught; 4 From Breakout Still Free

Two more inmates who participated in a mass escape from County Jail in Chula Vista were recaptured Tuesday in North Park by San Diego police.

The arrests bring to nine the number of escapees from the March 7 breakout who have been recaptured. Four others remain at large.

Police identified one of the men apprehended Tuesday as Larry Rodriguez Dominguez, 18. A suspected gang member, he was considered one of the most dangerous of the escapees. He was in jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, robbery and weapons violations.

The other escapee caught Tuesday was Jesus Humberto Lopez, 21, who was in custody on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and sexual assault.

Dominguez and Lopez are close friends, according to Police Department spokesman Bill Robinson, and the two men were arrested at the home of relatives of Dominguez in the 440 block of Park Boulevard, where they were living.

About 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, detectives saw Lopez get in a car with another man, who took him to a McDonald’s restaurant on El Cajon Boulevard near Interstate 805. As they placed orders at the drive-through window, police used their vehicles to block them off. The driver, Frank Amador, was arrested on suspicion of harboring a fugitive.

Detectives later returned to the house. Working with a task force of officers from homicide, special investigations, patrol units, plus a police helicopter unit, officers forced their way into the house about 1 p.m. and arrested Dominguez without incident.

Sgt. Gordon Redding said several people were in the house, but the owners were not home. He said charges of harboring a fugitive are pending against the owners.

“Before the escape took place, (Dominguez) made statements to people that he would kill any police officer that tried to arrest him,” Redding said. “Sheriff’s deputies at the Chula Vista facility warned us after the escape.”

Still at large are Francisco Yacumba, 19, who was in custody on drug charges; Audias Gomez, 36, held on murder charges; Benjamin Tapia, 21, accused of being a burglar, and Sergio Martinez, 22, an alleged murderer.