Fugitive Convicted of Attempted Murder : Courts: While authorities continue search for courthouse escapee, jurors find him guilty of stabbing a co-worker 25 times.

With a $1,000 bounty on his head, Ricardo S. Meza remained a fugitive Thursday as a Ventura County jury convicted him of attempted murder.

Jurors, who had seen Meza sauntering through the courthouse Tuesday without realizing he was escaping, took nearly two days to find him guilty of stabbing a co-worker 25 times.

The conviction is Meza’s third serious felony, and under California’s new “three strikes” law he could be sentenced to life in prison if captured.

Prosecutors also said Thursday that Meza faces another life term if he is caught and convicted of escape, which would be his second “third-strike” conviction.

The bailiff guarding Meza said the convicted rapist used a large paper clip Tuesday to pick a lock on a courthouse holding cell that was not fully secure. Meza then walked past his jurors milling in the hallway and disappeared into a sunny and hot Ventura afternoon. The 5-foot, 2-inch, 120-pound Meza was last seen at a nursery on Victoria Avenue on Tuesday morning wearing a T-shirt with “Gotcha” printed on the back.

He wore a blue denim shirt and black pants during his trial.

Jurors said Meza was nonchalant as he passed them in the hallway and blended in with the crowd about 10:30 a.m.

“He walked by us like he was you or me,” one male juror said.

“I could just kick myself now for not doing anything then,” a female juror added. The two jurors said they were unsure of Meza’s custody status at the time and did not tell authorities of Meza’s freedom stroll until panicked bailiffs poured into the hallway looking for him.

“Maybe they ought to put a red bow on guys in custody,” the male juror said.

The jurors asked that they remain anonymous because Meza is loose and considered violent.

The jurors were not told that Meza was in custody during his seven-day trial. He sat at the defense table unshackled and dressed in street clothes. State law allows defendants to appear as if they are out of custody to ensure they receive a fair trial.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard E. Simon said he will begin asking that prisoners be shackled at the ankles during future trials he prosecutes.

“This was silly,” he said.

Jurors were told of Meza’s escape before being sent to deliberate late Tuesday afternoon, but said they hardly discussed it while in the jury room.

“His escape had nothing to do with our verdict,” the male juror said. “The evidence was just overwhelming.”

Over the objection of defense attorney Todd Howeth, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr. refused to grant a mistrial after the escape. Campbell said the law allows a trial to continue “when a defendant voluntarily leaves” in the middle of the proceedings.

“This has been a rather unusual case,” Campbell told jurors. “We are not used to people walking out of here when they are supposed to be [in custody].”

In fact, officials said Meza is the first prisoner to escape from the Ventura County Hall of Justice.

“Meza is one lucky [guy],” Simon said. Meza would have been sentenced to a minimum of 35 years in prison, Simon said.

“When we catch him, I guarantee he’ll be shackled this time,” Simon said. “He’ll look like Hannibal Lecter,” he added, referring to the muzzled serial killer in “Silence of the Lambs.”

Howeth said he is unsure of his next move. He does not know if he can appeal the case without Meza’s consent.

“It raised an interesting question,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said it will pay $1,000 for information leading to Meza’s arrest. Deputies, who say there is a 50-50 chance that Meza is still in the area, said they expect the kitty to grow.

Meza is an illegal immigrant who was deported in 1993 after serving time in prison for rape and burglary. Authorities believe Meza is heading for Mexico, where his father still lives. Meza’s mother lives in Camarillo.

The jury found Meza guilty Thursday of trying to kill Gustavo Herrera last October. The two men had worked together at a restaurant.

Prosecutors said Herrera was stabbed more than 25 times and robbed after he drank beer and used cocaine with Meza as they sat in a van in front of Meza’s family home on Raemere Street in Camarillo.