Los Angeles herald., 1892-05-02
THEY BROKE JAIL.
Gonzales and Acivedo Drop Out
From a Window.
Two Noted Criminals Secure Their
Liberty.
The Cause of the Escape Was the Neg
lcct of the Supervisors to Accede
to Sheriff Gibson's Request
for Safeguards.

two prisoners escaped from the county
other Albert Acivedo. They are both
characters OF more than ordinary note.
Gonzales is Spaniard who has been
before the United States grand jury,
and a bill was found against him Sat-
urday by that body charging him with
perjury, in swearing that he did not
have in his possession brass die to be
used for making counterfeit $5 pieces.
He has previously attempted to escape
from the county Jail. Gonzales was
really held on the charge of having
counterfeit notes in his possession but
was not convicted. Acivedo has been
before the superior court as defendant
on charge of felony for some time, his
| case now being before the supreme court
on appeal.
Their escape last evening was
chiefly due to the neglect OF
| the supervisors to provide the
safeguards asked for by Sheriff Gibson
and was effected from the front part of
the upper story of the county Jail. They
were seen in the main corridor of the
Jail as late as :55 O'Clock in the even
| ing, but five minutes later, at 8 o'clock
when the prisoners were locked up for
the night, these two did not answer to
roll call.
A hasty investigation showed that
they had made good their escape, and
also the manner in which it was
effectd. They had passed up through
the main corridor to the rooms in the
front part of the Jail, over the main en-
| trance, had passed out of the window,
| slid down the cornice on the roof over the
vestibule and dropped from there to the
ground, distance of scarcely twelve
feet. 1t was also seen from this that
the escapes had not been gone more than
five minutes. Immediately it was re-
enough to attract any attention had
come from the front of the building
| just before iocking-up time.
Sheriff Gibson at once started in
| pursuit, and every deputy sheriff and
| attache of the Office is now on the hunt
after the escapes.
Albert Acevedo is a native Califor-
nian, feet 8 inches in height, swarthy
| complexion, slender build, wears a
small mustache. and at the time of his
escape had on brown shirt. blue over
alls, Ono coat, and pair of much worn
rubber-soled shoes.
Ricardo Gonzales is Spaniard, 5 feet
4 inches tall, keen black eyes, black
hair, heavy dark mustache, slightly
sandy and short side whiskers, and is of
a rather heavy build. He wore black
coat and vest with gray pantaloonH, and
looks as much like an American as q
| foreigner.
The possibility for the escape came
| through peculiar concatenatlon of ciy-
cumstances that could hardly have been
foreseen. The rooms through which the
escape was effected had been occupied
by the family of William Pallet, who
was acting as TAILOR up to Saturday
night. On the 1st of May yesterday
he was relieved by Deputy Sheriff Rus
sell, who had been appointed as jailor.
On Saturday Pallett's family moved
out. Russell intended to move
into these quarters this morning. For
| two days there has been more or less
confusion upon the upper landing and
the front stairs, owing to the prepara-
| tions for moving. In this way the at
| taches of the Jail became accustomed
to unnatural noises in that region, and
would not detect an irregularity that
otherwise would have aroused every
| one.
The sheriff's office has made repeated
requests to the board of supervisors for
such additional appliances for safety
and security as would make the jail
| what it should be. Sheriff Gibson had
made specific request for iron window
gratings for the front of the building,
from which the escape was made, and
had these been in place, last nights oc-
currence would have been impossible.
A reward of $100 for the capture of
each escape has been offered.
The sheriff's Office is now in commu-
nication with every possible avenue of
egress, and it is practically impossible
| for the escapes to get very far away.