VENTURA : Woman Helps Catch 18-Year-Old Escapee

A pregnant Ventura mother of two helped capture an 18-year-old who had escaped from the California Youth Authority on Thursday.

After jumping off a van that was taking him back to Ventura School, the CYA facility in Camarillo, Casey Clithero hid in the garage of a Ventura family, authorities said. The woman, who is 3 1/2 months pregnant, was taking a nap when she heard a noise, according to police reports.

Thinking she had heard the family cat, the woman, who asked not to be identified, went into the garage wearing a towel and was surprised to see the intruder looking down into the garage from the attic, police said.

The woman yelled to her son to call 911, and Clithero jumped from the attic and tried to run away, police said. But the woman grabbed at him, clutching his sweat shirt.

The woman chased Clithero to the front yard. By the time they got there, her towel had slipped off and Clithero was taking off his sweat shirt in an attempt to escape. The woman bit Clithero on his shoulder, police said.

Lynette Lightfoot, a Police Department employee who was in the area, saw the scuffle and called for assistance, Officer Richard French said.

Police and 21 corrections officers, who were already searching the area for the escapee, arrived within minutes and soon found Clithero hiding in another garage a block away. He had been gone for 1 1/2 hours.

Clithero was serving a sentence with the CYA for escaping twice from other camps, as well as for burglary, attempted burglary, fraud and drunken driving, said Allison Zajac, a Ventura School administrator.