El Cajon Jail to Move Some Inmates : Crime: Officials will transfer 20 to 25 of the worst offenders because of the facility’s vulnerability to escape.

County Jail in El Cajon is so vulnerable to escape that 20 to 25 of its most dangerous criminals--about 10% of its current population--will be moved to three higher-security jails, Sheriff Jim Roache said Tuesday.

Roache made his decision after concluding that sheriff’s deputies did all they could to try to keep the latest escapee, Jorge Flores, from knocking through a sixth-floor wall last Wednesday.

Flores, 20, who was being held on multiple felony charges, broke through the wall of his cell, climbed down a rope made of bedsheets tied together and eventually jumped or fell to a tree, from which he fled.

The jail is so poorly constructed that 15 people have escaped since it opened in 1983. The wall Flores broke through is built with one layer each of gypsum board, steel mesh wire and plastic foam.

Roache said he has ordered 20 to 25 inmates--those charged with murder, kidnap, escape or, like Flores, an array of serious felony charges--moved to the Central Jail in downtown San Diego, the Vista jail or the South Bay jail in Chula Vista.

Although any inmate could attempt to break out of the El Cajon jail, Roache said, he targeted the most dangerous for transfer.

“There’s always the possibility that anyone can escape,” he said. “It’s a matter of assessing the potential threat of those who are more likely to escape. We want them moved out of there as soon as possible. I’m told it will cause very little disruption.”

The El Cajon jail, like the entire County Jail system, is overcrowded and should be holding 125 inmates rather than the 211 now there.

The jail has been a source of embarrassment for county officials, who admit that the multimillion-dollar structure is severely flawed. Capt. Ben McLaughlin, in charge of the jail, blames its architectural design and what he says is shoddy construction. He said inmates have told him they can knock a hole through a wall in less than five minutes.

An investigation into the Flores escape concluded that deputies followed proper procedure before and after the escape. It is believed that Flores, also known as Jorge Gutierrez, fled to Mexico.

Flores had been charged with two counts each of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and burglary, and single counts of robbery, auto theft and a previous escape.

Although the jail has new cameras and lights that are supposed to help deputies watch for escape, McLaughlin said the cameras do not work, and the lights are not bright enough.