Handcuffed Prisoner Escapes From Jail Bus

Ahandcuffed prisoner remains at large after he bolted off a bus Tuesday that was taking him to court, slipped out a gate as it was closing and escaped from a county detention facility in Castaic, deputies 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 burglary charges, Deputy Larry Mead said.

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 them, Lorta jumped off the bus and ran out an electronically controlled gate that was closing.

The prisoner escaped into the surrounding rugged hilly area, Mead said. A team of 30 to 40 deputies and a sheriff’s helicopter searched for Lorta without success.

Lorta, who was dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit, was arrested last May on suspicion of burglary. Police believed he was the “Smoke Alarm Bandit” who would pose as an inspector, firefighter or representative of a fire equipment company to gain entry into residences.

He would tell residents to wash the detectors, and when they stepped out of the room, he would steal jewelry and cash. Police believe he was responsible for more than 100 burglaries in the Los Angeles Police Department’s Rampart area alone, according to Lt. Marlin Warkentin. At the time of his arrest, Lorta had just completed parole for a previous burglary conviction, Warkentin said.