Handcuffed Prisoner Bolts Off Bus to Escape Saugus Facility

A handcuffed prisoner bolted off a bus that was to take him to court this morning, slipped out a gate as it was closing and escaped from a county detention facility in Saugus, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Lorenzo Lorta, 36, of Bell Gardens was being held at the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho North Facility in lieu of $500,000 bail on a burglary charge, according to Deputy Larry Mead.

Lorta was one of several prisoners who were being taken by bus to the county courthouse in downtown Los Angeles at 5:25 a.m.

Lorta complained that the handcuffs, which were attached to a chain around his waist, were too tight. When a deputy opened a security door on the bus to check the handcuffs, Lorta bolted off the bus and out an electronically controlled gate that was closing.

He escaped into the surrounding hilly area, Mead said. A team of 30 to 40 deputies and a Sheriff’s Department helicopter were still searching for Lorta this morning.

Lorta was dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit.