Inmates Steal Truck, Escape From Facility

Three men from the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility in Camarillo escaped just before noon Thursday in a stolen maintenance vehicle, authorities said.

The facility was immediately locked down.

The Sheriff’s Department sent out a helicopter, and the California Youth Authority sent four armed agents to search the highways. Fourteen more agents were sent out as soon as the facility was locked down.

As of late Thursday afternoon, the escapees had not been found.

“We do suspect that they are probably out of Ventura County,” CYA spokeswoman Cynthia Brown said. “We do know that one is from Fresno, one is from L.A. and one is from Victorville.”

Randy Garret Lynch, Carlos Reyes and Andrew Marass, all 19, were working at a fire camp in Camarillo adjacent to the facility.

The stolen pickup, owned by the California Department of Forestry, is a teal Chevrolet with an extended cab, license plate 3WHP726.

“It was parked in the maintenance area,” she said. “They work there. It was probably just spur of the moment.”

Lynch, incarcerated for robbery, was scheduled to be paroled in a year. Reyes, who committed second-degree burglary, was scheduled to be paroled in December, and Marass, who committed robbery, was set to be paroled at the end of next year.

This is the second escape from the facility this year. In April a man was out on a training exercise when he walked away. He was caught three days later.