Inmate Escapes Low-Security Jail Near Irvine

An inmate convicted of burglary escaped from the James A. Musick Branch Jail early Monday, sending teams of sheriff’s deputies and canines scouring the surrounding area, officials said.

Victor Hugo Badajoz, 24, had been in custody at the low-security jail, just north of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, since March 30 for burglarizing a Yorba Linda home, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Martini said.

Badajoz apparently climbed over a 16-foot fence with barbed wire sometime between 5 and 7 a.m., Martini said.

“We found his prison shirt off the compound,” he said. “It appears that he’s fled the area and we don’t know how he accomplished that.”

A canine unit, patrol deputies, Irvine police and California Highway Patrol officers were dispatched to search for Badajoz.

He was at large late Monday and not considered dangerous, Martini said.

Martini said the inmate has no previous crime record. Badajoz was scheduled to be released in October.

“He was a little anxious, I guess,” Martini said.

Badajoz’s escape could extend his jail time an additional six to 12 months, Martini said. “Then we consider them a security risk and they may be placed in the main jail, which is harder,” he said.

Police records show that another inmate, in custody for grand theft, escaped Musick jail this year in January but was apprehended.