Inmate Firefighter Back Behind Bars After Breaking Free From Cal Fire Camp Near Camarillo
CAMARILLO (CBSLA.com) — A convicted burglar, who broke out of a Cal Fire correctional fire camp in Ventura County, is back behind bars.
Bobby Gleason was caught in Vista near San Diego Thursday night, nearly 24 hours after vanishing from the Ventura Conservation Camp in Camarillo.
According to the California Department of Corrections, staff discovered Gleason was missing after doing a head count.
Correctional officers believed the 37-year-old walked out from the camp on Wright Road after cutting through a fence during a shift change.
Camp commanders suspected once he got through the fence, an accomplice was waiting for him in a car near a field.
Camp commander Derrick Taylor said this kind of escape doesn't happen often because inmates there usually realize the punishment for getting caught is not worth the risk.
"I've been in the fire camp business for 11 years, the Department of Corrections 28 years, and I have not seen where they cut through a fence or anything like this," Taylor said.
Ventura Conservation Camp No. 46 is among 42 fire camps statewide for inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes.
Gleason was admitted to the camp from San Diego County for burglary twice and was ordered to spend nine years there. He was scheduled to be released on Aug. 6, 2019.