Pair Had Little to Lose by Scaling Jail Fence : Fugitives: Carjacker, killer still at large had just received stiff prison sentences. Escape usually adds a year or less to term.

Two escaped inmates who were still being sought late Monday had little to lose by going over the fence of Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho, prosecutors said.

The two men--a carjacker and a gang member who allegedly has killed twice--were waiting to be sent to state prison after receiving stiff sentences last week in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Although a jail escape can add up to three years to a sentence, as a practical matter, it usually adds only about eight months to a year because of credits given for good behavior in prison, said David Demerjian, head of the district attorney’s hard-core gang unit.

None of the escapees merited news coverage of their crimes, not until their participation early Sunday in Los Angeles County’s largest jailbreak.

Authorities said they should be considered armed and dangerous.

Sketchy profiles of the men began to emerge Tuesday from interviews with police and prosecutors. Their stories are common ones on the streets of Los Angles--a dispute resolved by gunfire and a Honda stolen at gunpoint.

The men being sought are:

Convicted killer Luis A. Galdamez, 28, a Salvadoran gang member, was charged with the fatal shootings, in October, 1993, and April, 1994, of William Valenzuela and Jose Benavides in the 200 block of Lake Street, east of Downtown Los Angeles. He pleaded guilty April 12 to a single count of manslaughter and a handgun offense and was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in state prison.

He is described as 5 feet, 9 inches tall and 175 pounds, with a scar on his abdomen and a mustache.

Convicted carjacker Walter R. Padilla, 22, was sentenced Friday to seven years in state prison under a plea bargain. Padilla and another man were arrested in the Honda 90 minutes after the carjacking. The gun was found inside the car.

Padilla is described as 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 155 pounds.

Two other fugitives were recaptured Monday. Fernando Arroyo, 24, a narcotics suspect, was arrested around noon Monday in Newhall.

Eric M. Reed, 24, was apprehended Monday night in a Downtown hotel. He was scheduled for trial in June on charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder in a Jan. 22, 1993, Skid Row shooting. A bystander died and three others were wounded, including the man police allege was Reed’s intended victim.

Reed was on trial two weeks ago, and the first of his three alleged victims had testified, when Reed’s defense attorney dropped out of the case, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Kathryn Solorzano. The prosecutor added that Reed gave police a statement after his arrest that led prosecutors to file first-degree murder charges.

Police in the case said they were contacting family members of victims and crime witnesses on Monday.