Prison Escapes Northern California

An ambushed sheriff's deputy was in critical condition Tuesday after a gunman shot him in the head and abdomen and shot the lock off his van to free a prisoner, authorities said. The attack occurred two miles from the state Capitol in the parking lot of a medical building where the prisoner had been taken for an eye care appointment.

Gerald Barnes, serving a 12-year term for impersonating a doctor, was such a model inmate that he was given bus fare and allowed to travel unescorted from a federal corrections camp in Taft, Calif., to another minimum security facility in Marion, Ill. Big mistake. Barnes never showed up. After a monthlong search, U.S. marshals tracked him down Wednesday in a North Hollywood medical clinic with a stethoscope draped around his neck, apparently up to his old tricks.

Opening a new chapter in what is already one of the state's longest and costliest legal cases, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to reinstate the 1976 murder conviction of "San Quentin Six" co-defendant Johnny L. Spain. The court, without comment, let stand a federal appeals court ruling that a state Superior Court judge had violated Spain's rights by shackling him during the 204-day trial.

An ex-convict suspected of shooting a sheriff's deputy in the brazen escape of an inmate was captured Sunday, authorities said. Gerard Joseph Gallant Jr. offered no resistance when he was arrested just outside Sacramento, federal and local police said. Gallant, 53, had been sought since Tuesday, when he allegedly shot and seriously wounded Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Steven Fonbuena while aiding in the escape of inmate Vincent Carrafa.

Inmate Lance Todd, driven by a craving for burritos, broke out of jail in Milpitas to make a dinner run, authorities said. He bought 14 burritos from a nearby Taco Bell but never got to eat them because he got caught as he tried to break back into the Elmwood Correctional Facility. When the hankering for the Mexican food hit Todd, an inmate trusty, he allegedly slipped out of the minimum-security section and into a storm drain outside his cell.

Seven juvenile hall inmates overpowered unarmed staff members with baseball bats and pool cues and smashed wire-reinforced windows in a bid for freedom Sunday. One youth, a 17-year-old who was held for six felonies, remained at large late Sunday, said Fresno County Sheriff's Lt. Don Burk. The youth was believed to be heading for Mexico. Five juveniles were captured within an hour of the 10 a.m. escape, and a sixth was found around 4 p.m.

An ex-convict suspected of shooting a sheriff's deputy in the brazen escape of an inmate was captured Sunday, authorities said. Gerard Joseph Gallant Jr. offered no resistance when he was arrested just outside Sacramento, federal and local police said. Gallant, 53, had been sought since Tuesday, when he allegedly shot and seriously wounded Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Steven Fonbuena while aiding in the escape of inmate Vincent Carrafa.

Accused murderer Troy Alexander Temple, who escaped from Yuba County Jail, was captured at gunpoint a day later by a Highway Patrol officer who spotted him walking near an Oroville shopping center. Temple offered no resistance during the arrest. Officer T.J. Oster said he recognized the 30-year-old fugitive when he saw him walking with two other people Friday. Temple broke out Thursday from a second-story rooftop exercise area in the Yuba County Jail complex in Marysville.

Police are looking for a 24-year-old former convict after finding an unexpected clue at the scene of his alleged eye-popping escape. Detectives found a plastic eyeball marked "A. Harris" at an apartment complex where a 28-year-old man was wounded by two gunmen Jan. 16. Aaron Levall Harris, the fake eye's apparent owner, is a suspect, police said. Detective Shawn Maples said it appears the prosthetic eye popped out of its socket during an escape from the second-story apartment.

Ronald McIntosh, a Vietnam War pilot who swooped a helicopter into a prison yard to help his girlfriend escape, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for the contract murder of a Sausalito business executive. San Mateo County Superior Court Judge John Bible sentenced him for a "cold-blooded killing committed in order to maintain a fraudulent operation."

Vincent Carrafa, a federal inmate who escaped from custody when an accomplice ambushed a Sacramento sheriff's deputy, was captured Thursday after a widespread manhunt. Carrafa, 50, who has a history of violent escapes, was captured without incident about 2:30 p.m. by officers in a residential area here. Police had been staking out a car that was reported stolen overnight in Monterey County and found parked in Stockton when Carrafa was spotted walking down a street.

An ambushed sheriff's deputy was in critical condition Tuesday after a gunman shot him in the head and abdomen and shot the lock off his van to free a prisoner, authorities said. The attack occurred two miles from the state Capitol in the parking lot of a medical building where the prisoner had been taken for an eye care appointment.

Police are looking for a 24-year-old former convict after finding an unexpected clue at the scene of his alleged eye-popping escape. Detectives found a plastic eyeball marked "A. Harris" at an apartment complex where a 28-year-old man was wounded by two gunmen Jan. 16. Aaron Levall Harris, the fake eye's apparent owner, is a suspect, police said. Detective Shawn Maples said it appears the prosthetic eye popped out of its socket during an escape from the second-story apartment.

Seven juvenile hall inmates overpowered unarmed staff members with baseball bats and pool cues and smashed wire-reinforced windows in a bid for freedom Sunday. One youth, a 17-year-old who was held for six felonies, remained at large late Sunday, said Fresno County Sheriff's Lt. Don Burk. The youth was believed to be heading for Mexico. Five juveniles were captured within an hour of the 10 a.m. escape, and a sixth was found around 4 p.m.

Inmate Lance Todd, driven by a craving for burritos, broke out of jail in Milpitas to make a dinner run, authorities said. He bought 14 burritos from a nearby Taco Bell but never got to eat them because he got caught as he tried to break back into the Elmwood Correctional Facility. When the hankering for the Mexican food hit Todd, an inmate trusty, he allegedly slipped out of the minimum-security section and into a storm drain outside his cell.

Ronald McIntosh, a Vietnam War pilot who swooped a helicopter into a prison yard to help his girlfriend escape, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for the contract murder of a Sausalito business executive. San Mateo County Superior Court Judge John Bible sentenced him for a "cold-blooded killing committed in order to maintain a fraudulent operation."

Gerald Barnes, serving a 12-year term for impersonating a doctor, was such a model inmate that he was given bus fare and allowed to travel unescorted from a federal corrections camp in Taft, Calif., to another minimum security facility in Marion, Ill. Big mistake. Barnes never showed up. After a monthlong search, U.S. marshals tracked him down Wednesday in a North Hollywood medical clinic with a stethoscope draped around his neck, apparently up to his old tricks.

A youth enrolled in a VisionQuest program featuring a wagon train that traveled from Arizona to California has drowned while trying to escape, authorities said. John Vincent Garrison, 18, of Stockton, drowned in the Grant Line Canal north of Tracy, a San Joaquin County sheriff's spokesman said. Garrison and two other youths were attempting to swim the canal to escape authorities when he went under.

Accused murderer Troy Alexander Temple, who escaped from Yuba County Jail, was captured at gunpoint a day later by a Highway Patrol officer who spotted him walking near an Oroville shopping center. Temple offered no resistance during the arrest. Officer T.J. Oster said he recognized the 30-year-old fugitive when he saw him walking with two other people Friday. Temple broke out Thursday from a second-story rooftop exercise area in the Yuba County Jail complex in Marysville.

A youth enrolled in a VisionQuest program featuring a wagon train that traveled from Arizona to California has drowned while trying to escape, authorities said. John Vincent Garrison, 18, of Stockton, drowned in the Grant Line Canal north of Tracy, a San Joaquin County sheriff's spokesman said. Garrison and two other youths were attempting to swim the canal to escape authorities when he went under.