2 escapees in separate incidents being sought

Law enforcement authorities were searching late Thursday for two potentially dangerous escapees who slipped away in separate incidents.

One was an inmate who escaped from Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, and the other was a suspected parole violator who fled shortly after being detained in Paramount.

The inmate, who was identified as Felix Stiglbauer, walked away from his work assignment at Pitchess’ North Facility shortly before 7 a.m. Thursday. Guards were alerted to the escape when the inmate’s electronic monitoring device was activated.

Authorities believe that Stiglbauer was hiding on the grounds of the expansive Pitchess facilities, but they warned residents in the Santa Clarita Valley to be extra cautious when leaving their homes and to check their vehicles before entering them.

Stiglbauer was described as a white male, 24, 5 feet 8 inches tall and 180 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was convicted of an auto theft charge earlier this month and was due to be transferred to state prison.

Separately, authorities said they were looking for an apparent parole violator who fled from deputies Wednesday night after being detained in a search intended to find another man, a suspect wanted in a double murder.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies said they succeeded in arresting Shawn Marcelo Munoz, 24, who was sought in the shooting deaths of two men at a gas station in Victorville on July 3, 2005.

Munoz was picked up, without a struggle, at a mortuary at California Avenue and Alondra Boulevard in Paramount. Authorities said he was living in an apartment at the facility.

However, as deputies were making that arrest, they left two men alone who moments earlier had been detained, handcuffed behind their backs and left in the back seat of an unmarked San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department car.

The detained men managed to slip the handcuffs from behind their backs. Then, one of the detainees, David Watson, moved into the front seat and drove the car for a short distance before jumping out and fleeing, deputies said. The other man was questioned and released.

Cindy Beavers, a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman, said Watson was believed to be a parole violator but provided no details of his background. She described him as 36 and white, and said he was believed to be armed.