It was the second day of 22-year-old Marc Schwartz’s four-day sentence at a Santa Rosa jail when he decided to make a break for it, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department. He was serving the sentence for a DUI conviction, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
Schwartz managed to scale the tall fence surrounding the jail just after 8 p.m. April 27, deputies said. Once Schwartz reached the top, he had to get past coils of razor wire strung atop the barrier. It took some time, but he untangled himself from the coils and then dropped to the ground. From there, Schwartz hopped over a wooden fence and started running, deputies said.
By this point, more than 20 deputies (as well as the sheriff’s department’s helicopter, police dogs, highway patrol officers and other local police) were on the hunt for the escapee.
Meanwhile, guards locked down the jail and ran an inmate count to identify who had escaped. Once the jail knew who the fugitive was, they broadcast Schwartz’s description — and within minutes, a citizen told authorities he’d spotted someone who fit the profile. The citizen said the suspect was running through a field of tall grass near the jail, deputies said.
Authorities converged on that spot while the helicopter scanned the area with a searchlight so Schwartz would have to stop moving, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies closed in on the fugitive and captured him — just 38 minutes after the escape was reported.
The half-hour of freedom didn’t treat the escaped inmate particularly well, deputies said: Schwartz was wet and bleeding in a creek not far from the jail when authorities got to him. Near him was a bloody, jail-issued shirt, deputies said.
Schwartz is being held without bail, according to jail records.
Source: The Sacramento Bee