The Fugitive Movie Plot Unfolds in Riverside
Inmates strip to their underwear and try to escape
By SCOTT WEBER
Updated 2:54 PM PDT, Thu, Jan 7, 2010
A vehicle crash. Inmates escape into the hills-- including a murder suspect. Cops with helicopters go on a frantic manhunt. A happy ending. It has the trappings of "The Fugitive"…minus Harrison Ford and a one armed man.
Four Riverside County jail inmates escaped from a Department of Corrections vehicle Friday, including a murder suspect.
Some media outlets reported that the vehicle may have crashed allowing the suspects to get away, but Riverside County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said he could not confirm that report.
The men made a break for it, stripping down to their underwear and discarding their orange jail jumpsuits, according to Univision Channel 12.
Justin Kirk, 27, Raymond Rudy Perez, 18, Edgar Valenzuela Calderon, 21, and Antonio Vasquez, 28, were reported missing around 7:30 a.m., Gutierrez said. The men were all due in court today at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, which is across the street from the Indio Jail.
Sheriff's deputies moved in quickly, locking down an area near Shadow Hills area about three miles north of the jail. A helicopter aided the search from the air.
One of the inmates was quickly recaptured, and two others were found in the hills above the neighborhood near Dillon Road.
Gutierrez said the fourth inmate barricaded himself inside a home and claimed to be armed in a 911 call, but he surrendered when a SWAT team showed up. All four inmates were back in custody by noon and were returned to the Indio Jail.
The intense search startled residents. Some were prevented from returning to their homes.
Andrew Jackson Elementary School, which has 790 students, was placed on lockdown for about two hours while the search continued. Students walking to the school, which is across Interstate 10 from the search area, were ushered into the school's office.
Michael Jeandron of the Riverside County District Attorney's Office said their office will evaluate the cases and will likely charge the men for the escape.
"Escaping from custody is a serious crime and we will hold them accountable for it," he said.
First Published: Oct 16, 2009 4:02 PM PDT
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