LOS ANGELES COUNTY – The Board of Supervisors approved a motion by Supervisor Kathryn Barger asking the Sheriff’s Department to provide a written report to the Board on the facts surrounding the inmate escape this past weekend at Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic.
On Sunday, February 3, 2019, inmate David Luis Bustamonte was discovered missing from the facility at approximately 7:00 a.m. during a routine inmate count. By 9:30 a.m., sirens across the detention center sounded and the entire area went on lockdown. Bustamonte then led investigators on an eight-hour search before he was located and arrested at the Interstate 5 (Golden State) Freeway and California State Route 126 (SR 126) beneath the overpass.
According to the motion, the details surrounding how the inmate escaped remain unclear and members of the surrounding community are appropriately concerned and want assurance that these types of incidents are thoroughly investigated and corrective actions are taken to prevent them in the future.
“We want to make sure our Sheriff’s Department is fully equipped to ensure the public’s safety. This instance offers insight on opportunities for improvement,” Barger said. “We also want to thank the Department’s Major Crimes Bureau investigators and all others who were part of the search for finding and apprehending the inmate as quickly as possible.”
The report is due back to the Board in 45 days and will include any resulting corrective action plans taken.