Guard Thwarts Escape Attempt by 3 Inmates : Castaic: One prisoner spotted scaling a fence is hospitalized after cutting his hands on razor wire. The other two are placed in maximum security.

An attempted escape by three inmates at a medium-security county jail in Castaic was thwarted when a guard spotted one of the men attempting to scale a barbed-wire fence, authorities said Thursday.

One inmate was hospitalized with cuts on his hands from razor wire atop the fence after the Wednesday night escape attempt from the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Gabe Ramirez said. The other two were transferred to maximum-security facilities elsewhere.

An unidentified sheriff’s deputy spotted the three men about 7:45 p.m. in an area that is off limits to inmates. Inmate Jose Simentel, 18, was straddling the chain-link fence, one of two fences that surround the county facility, Ramirez said.

The other inmates, Carlos Rodriguez, 20, and Craig Simeoli, 29, were standing at the base of the fence, Ramirez said.

When the deputy yelled at the men, Simentel climbed down from the fence, cutting his left arm and finger on the razor wire, Ramirez said. The three men then ran to a nearby barracks, but were found within minutes by deputies, Ramirez said.

Simentel was taken to the jail ward of Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. Rodriguez and Simeoli were transferred to maximum-security facilities in downtown Los Angeles.

All three men were awaiting court appearances--Simentel on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, Rodriguez on a burglary charge and Simeoli on a felony narcotics charge, Ramirez said. They now will face additional charges of attempted escape, he said.