4 Escape From Juvenile Jail; 1 Is Recaptured

Four youths escaped from a county jail for juveniles Monday by smashing a chair through a classroom window, climbing out and going over a 20-foot-high fence topped with razor wire, authorities said.

One of the boys injured himself after jumping over the fence at the Frank A. Colston Youth Center and was captured just outside the facility, said Sharon Clark, supervising deputy probation officer.

The three other juveniles ran through an alley behind the medium-security facility on Hillmont Avenue--less than a mile from Ventura College--and were still at large.

One of the three became ensnared in the razor wire before breaking free and might have been cut, authorities said.

The Colston center is a holding and counseling facility for youths who are serving sentences of two to six months for crimes ranging from vandalism, burglary and auto theft to assault with a deadly weapon.

Authorities would only say that the three who escaped are under 18 years of age.

“Kids who have committed extremely serious crimes are excluded because they are in custody a lot longer than six months,” Clark said.

But Clark cautioned that Colston youths “are kids who committed crimes and are a risk to the community.”

As part of the program, Colston youths are sometimes allowed to take furloughs or supervised excursions to clean up local parks and beaches, she said. “The expectation is they represent not so much of a risk that they can’t go into the community” under supervision, Clark said.

Monday was the first day on the job for the school’s new principal, Paul White, who oversees the academic portion of the program through the county superintendent of schools’ office.

White called the escape “unfortunate but not unexpected.” There are about 45 students at the school, he said.

There have been three other escapes this year from Ventura County juvenile facilities, including Colston.

In May, four men, including two convicted murderers, escaped from the California Youth Authority facility in Camarillo through a hole in a chain-link fence. The four, ranging in age from 19 to 21, are still at large.

The previous escape from Colston occurred about three weeks ago when three youths fled after prying open a window in a sleeping area, Clark said. They were captured a few days later. And a 14-year-old who escaped March 22 during a transfer from Juvenile Hall, across the street, was caught about two weeks later.

Monday’s escape occurred while an instructor was teaching a class, Clark said. One youth threw a plastic chair through a window and climbed out into a fenced yard, followed by the other three boys.

Three of the four juveniles then climbed atop a trailer parked next to the fence and jumped over, while a fourth scaled the fence. The youth who scaled the fence escaped, but one of the three who jumped was later caught.

The captured youth was in satisfactory condition Monday at nearby Ventura County Medical Center, a spokeswoman said.

All four youths will be charged with escape, Clark said. The addition of any time to their sentences will be decided after a hearing in county Juvenile Court, she said.