VENTURA : Man Who Fled Court Recaptured
A Ventura man who fled from Ventura County Municipal Court to avoid going to jail was caught by sheriff’s deputies Tuesday evening.
Paul James Buttorff, 26, was taken into custody about 7 p.m. at a residence on Banner Avenue in Ventura after the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department received a tip that he was there, Sheriff’s Lt. Paul Anderson said.
Buttorff was appearing before Municipal Judge Herbert Curtis III on two warrants for possession of marijuana and one warrant for violation of probation Tuesday when the escape occurred, Ventura County Sheriff’s Lt. Michael Gullon said.
Curtis remanded Buttorff to the custody of the Sheriff’s Department, but rather than taking a seat in the courtroom and waiting to be taken to jail, Buttorff fled, Gullon said.
Buttorff was later seen running in the northeast parking lot of the Ventura County Government Center. He got into a vehicle and left, Gullon said.
Curtis issued a bench warrant for Buttorff’s arrest, Gullon said.
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