2 CYA Inmates Escape From Work Camp in Camarillo

Two inmates fled from the California Youth Authority in Camarillo on Friday, bringing the number of escapees from the youth prison to eight in eight months, authorities said.

Missing were Clarence Lee, 21, who was convicted of armed robbery in Los Angeles Juvenile Court, and Don Jones, 19, who was convicted of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in San Diego County Juvenile Court, Youth Authority Lt. Howard Walther said.

They fled at 12:10 p.m. from a work camp in Camarillo, he said.

“A field worker reported that he saw (them) jump a fence and get into a brown ‘60s Toyota Celica,” Walther said.

The car was seen heading west on Wright Road from the Sylvester Carraway Fire Protection and Public Service Center, Walther said. A sheriff’s helicopter, police dogs and 22 Youth Authority officers searched the area unsuccessfully.

Walther said he did not know whether they were armed, but Assistant Supt. Allison Zajac said, “We can be reasonably sure they were not armed when they left us.” No physical descriptions of the pair were available.

This is the first escape from the Youth Authority at Camarillo this year. Last year, six inmates escaped, with two of the six walking away while working outside. One of the inmates was caught less than two months later; the other five were not caught. According to Zajac, the institution averages about five escapes a year.

The 105-acre facility holds about 820 inmates. Another 87, including the two who escaped Friday, are housed at the adjacent Carraway camp where they are trained in firefighting, Zajac said. After inmates are trained, they are on call with the California Department of Forestry and also help clear brush and maintain fire breaks in the county, Zajac said.

Before inmates are allowed to work at Carraway, they must be considered “a low security risk,” Zajac said.

“Generally their crimes are not as severe. . . . They go off and fight fires and dig ditches, and they have more opportunity for walking away.”

Last November, a 21-year-old man convicted of attempted murder walked away while cutting brush with a fire crew near Pacific Coast Highway and Las Posas Road.

In October, a 20-year-old woman, who had been convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and maliciously disfiguring the victim, escaped while she was shopping at the Price Club in Oxnard with a Youth Authority officer. She was later caught, Zajac said.

And in May, four felons--including two murderers--cut a hole through the prison’s chain-link fence and escaped.