Chula Vista Jail Escapes Worry, Anger Residents and Businesses

The day after a jail escape in Chula Vista--the third since Dec. 13--inmates remained at large, sparking outrage Wednesday from residents and merchants around the jail who are concerned that their safety is being compromised.

The latest escape occurred about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday when eight inmates cut through a metal bar, kicked out a window and then, using bedsheets, lowered themselves 35 feet to the ground. One of the escapees was captured when a Chula Vista policeman cornered him in the back yard of a nearby house.

Despite new security procedures that were authorized after 13 inmates escaped last month, area residents and community leaders are growing increasingly angry that not enough is being done to keep inmates inside the jail.

“The county is in a crisis mode with its jail system,” Chula Vista Mayor Greg Cox said Wednesday, a day in which his office was deluged with telephone calls from citizens worried for their safety. “This situation is intolerable. It’s unacceptable.”

In the three jailbreaks since December, 28, inmates have slid or sawed their way out of the jail. Eleven inmates remain at large. Several of the escapees had been jailed on murder charges. One of Tuesday night’s escapees--Roberto Cruz Loza--is the alleged Blockbuster bandit who is suspected of robbing more than a dozen San Diego County video stores in four months.

Two of the eight men who escaped Tuesday night had been charged with past escapes, and a third man had been charged with attempted escape.

Built just eight years ago, the South Bay jail was originally to handle only pretrial detainees. Today it is three times over capacity and houses a large number of convicted felons bound for state prison.

It was unclear Wednesday whether the rash of jailbreaks in Chula Vista is a record among county jails in the state.

“I know that it is a real problem for county jails all over the nation,” said Al Cooper, a spokesman for the California State Sheriff’s Assn. “What’s happenning is that the inmates spend all of their time figuring out how to get out.”

Pat Mandeville, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections, added: “As far as that being a record, I don’t know. But three breaks in four months does seem like a lot. That’s a lot of people getting out.”

That fact is not lost on Chula Vista community leaders, residents and merchants, many of whom said Wednesday that it seems that more inmates are breaking out of the jail these days than are going in.

Heather Paul, 35, who lives with her husband at the El Primero Hotel just a block from the jail, said she came home Tuesday night as Sheriff’s Department helicopters and police cars were converging around her building.

“It concerns me because some of these people are murderers,” she said, peeking through a slightly opened door. “It concerns me when these people are charged with murder and are breaking out of jail. What about people’s safety? It’s frightening. It really is.”

Marilyn Mora and her daughter, Julie, are used to seeing inmates who are legitimately released from the jail come straight to their convenience store to buy beer and cigarettes. But they do not like jail escapees running through the neighborhood.

“My employees are worried,” said Marilyn Mora, the store owner. “We don’t have a gun that we keep here, but we do have a bat. But who knows what the inmates are armed with?”

Said her daughter, Julie, who was working the late shift Tuesday, “This has got me real scared. They could have been anywhere around the store.”

The recent series of jailbreaks began Dec. 5, when seven inmates escaped by covering their bodies with hand lotion and squeezing through a 6-inch window opening on the third floor. They tied together bedsheets and shinnied 80 feet to the ground. As of Wednesday, two of those escapees were still missing.

The second incident occurred March 7 in what was the county’s largest jailbreak ever. Thirteen inmates broke out that night, and four remain at large today. They sawed through two bars, each about 5 inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick, then smashed the bars through a second-floor plate glass window.

That same scenario was replayed Tuesday night, when eight inmates from a nearby cell sawed through the bars, kicked out a window, then lowered themselves on bedsheets 35 feet to the ground.

“It’s not been determined yet what they used to cut through the steel bars,” said Deputy Robbie Hill. “It hasn’t been determined what tools were used or how the tools were brought into the facility. Or they could have used something already in the facility.”

The second jailbreak prompted county officials to spend $251,000 to upgrade security measures at the jail, which were still being put in place at the time of Tuesday night’s escape. The new security measures include guards posted outside, fencing around the outside perimeter, electronic vibration sensors to detect sawing or breaking of metal, more cameras and monitors and extra alarm devices.

John Woodard, chief of staff for County Supervisor Brian Bilbray, whose district includes Chula Vista, says his office wants the security work completed more quickly.

“We want it done faster,” Woodard said. “We’ve had quite a few phone calls today, at this point about 40. And that’s the most we’ve ever got in any compressed period of time. The residents down there are saying that this many escapes is enough.”

Bud Pocklington, who lives near the jail and has beseeched the Chula Vista City Council to force the county to improve security at the jail, was recently nominated to a citizen’s committee to ensure safety in the neighborhood. A public meeting with county and sheriff’s officials is scheduled for Monday to address the residents’ concerns.

Pocklington said Wednesday that many elderly residents genuinely fear they will be harmed by escapees.

“If they tried to put something like that jail in here today, we wouldn’t stand for it,” he said. “There are a lot of elderly people around here. One elderly lady was out walking her dog when the prisoners broke out last night.”

The jail, at 500 3rd Avenue, is in a residential and commercial area.

The inmate who was recaptured Tuesday night was arrested after a short foot chase not far from the jail. He is Johnnie Smith, 20, who is charged with possession of a controlled substance and is being held under no bail.

The other seven escapees being sought and the charges that they were being held on, are:

Loza, 31, the alleged Blockbuster video bandit, armed robbery; Fernando Martinez, 24, attempted escape, driving under the influence of intoxicants, possession of narcotics for sale; Manuel Salmeron, 28, two counts of murder and robbery; Yldefonso Barahona, 19, murder and assault with a deadly weapon; Arturo Robles, 29, escape and damage to jail property; Jorge Renteria, 28, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest; Salvador Gutierrez, 25, burglary.