1 Prisoner Still at Large After 3 Escape From Bus

Three inmates kicked out the back window of a jail bus Friday and escaped into a residential area, where they ran through yards, terrified neighbors and triggered a massive manhunt. One prisoner, a suspect in a gruesome murder, remained at large.

The inmates, who were being transferred from Municipal Court in Westminster to Orange County Jail, escaped about 3:45 p.m. when the bus stopped at a red light at Westminster Avenue and Bushard Street. The men apparently pried a wire mesh screen off and knocked out a window at the rear of the bus.

Son Hong Nguyen, 23, of Santa Ana, who is accused of murdering a Garden Grove man and lighting his body on fire, had not been caught by late Friday. A manhunt involving police from three agencies, tracking dogs, bicycle patrols and helicopters, continued late into the night.

The other two inmates were caught near the scene.

Prisoner Robert A. Pandolfi, 25, whose hometown was unknown and who has been charged with selling drugs, was arrested in a backyard 15 minutes after the escape wearing only his underwear and a T-shirt. He had shed his orange prison jumpsuit, police said.

At 8:15 p.m., police dogs sniffed out Lester Clarence Tuthill, 36, of Cypress, who is accused of illegal possession of drugs and weapons, from under a house on Glitter Street.

The men had been wearing handcuffs when they broke free, but all three worked their way out of them, Sheriff’s Department Lt. Fred Listani said. Nguyen’s cuffs also were found.

“I don’t believe they are armed, but at least one of them [Nguyen] is dangerous,” County Sheriff’s Lt. Tom Garner said during the search.

At the time of the escape, one of the two deputies assigned to the bus chased the suspects into a nearby neighborhood while his partner guarded the remaining 55 inmates aboard the bus. None of the other prisoners tried to flee, and deputies and a backup bus were called to transfer the remaining inmates to jail, officials said.

Neighbors in the area said they were terrified by the site of inmates and police running in their normally quiet neighborhood.

A 12-year-old resident was with a friend when they saw one of the escapees, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and a handcuff on one hand.

“He came out of nowhere,” she said.

A few seconds later, an undercover policeman driving a gray Jeep sped onto the street. The officer jumped out of the car with his gun drawn and began chasing the prisoner into a neighbor’s backyard, she said.

She and her friend dashed into a neighbor’s house and called 911.

Meanwhile, the inmate threw off his jail uniform in the backyard, where the owner was drying a line of clothes, authorities said later. The 12-year-old said her neighbor later checked and found no clothes missing.

“He must be wearing his boxer shorts and T-shirt now,” she said.

A swarm of police cars and news helicopters arrived on the scene minutes later, said the girl’s father, Donald Mosier. Residents were told to keep their doors and windows locked as police searched backyards.

Several hours later, at 7:30 p.m., more than a dozen officers police returned with a bloodhound and began an intensive search of the house next to Mosier’s, emerging a few minutes later with Pandolfi, Mosier said.

“It’s scary, because he must have been there the whole time,” Mosier said. “That poor lady [his neighbor] has been there alone for all these hours. I can’t believe it.”

“It makes me a little nervous because I have been here with my four kids,” he added.

Kimberly Grizzell, who lives on nearby Glitter Street, said, “This is a quiet neighborhood, so it’s been extremely frightening. I asked the police to search my house just to make sure they weren’t hiding or something.”

Added resident Sau Nguyen, who is not related to the accused man, “I won’t feel safe until the police arrest these people.”

The intense police activity caused gridlock throughout Westminster and Garden Grove Friday evening. Deputies blocked off several streets and searched a quarter mile area.

Resident Carolyn Ybanez said it took her an hour and half to make the short drive from the Garden Grove Freeway to her neighborhood.

“I had to show every kind of identification just to get through,” she said. “I had to go through three separate police barriers.”

Resident Dell Childs was planning to hold a Christmas potluck party at her house Friday night. But she had to cancel it because of the police barricades and search.

“I was supposed to cook the ham, and the others were going to bring everything else,” she said. “So we are eating ham tonight.”

Listani said it is not uncommon for escapees to hide near the scene.

“This is typical for this kind of situation,” he said. “Once they get out, they usually stay in the area. That’s where we find them.”

Nguyen was arrested in March in connection with March 3 shooting death of Michael Vu, 21, of Garden Grove. He was the second suspect in a slaying that is believed to be gang-related.

All three men made court appearances Friday and have been charged but not convicted of the crimes, said Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Tom Garner.