Salinas Man Walks Out of Watsonville Detention Center

WATSONVILLE—Richard Sasse, 28, of Salinas escaped from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Medium Jail Facility in Watsonville on Thursday night, and is still on the run. At about 11 p.m. Sasse, who was part of the cleaning crew that cleans the cafeteria, was able to manipulate the lock on a door so that the lock did not function properly.  He returned later that night and crawled through a food slot into the kitchen and walked out the door.

Authorities with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department did not notice that Sasse was missing until 11 a.m. that next morning when correctional officers conducted a head count. The Sheriff’s office immediately put out a “Be on the lookout (BOL)” to all law enforcement agencies. “Sasse just walked out of the kitchen door and climbed the outer fence late at night,” Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Deputy April Skalland said.

Richard Sasse

Sasse was at the Detention Center awaiting sentencing for carjacking, burglary, armed robbery, possession of narcotics, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm.  “There is a ‘Classification Committee’ that decides who goes to what facility,” said Skalland, “They look at the behavior and other indicators. For example, if this individual has ever been in prison,” Skalland said as to why Sasse was at that facility and not the main Jail Facility in Santa Cruz.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is actively searching for Sasse. They have information that he could be heading to Mexico or possibly the state of Washington where he has family.

Richard Sasse is 6’-0” tall and 155 pounds with medium length brown hair and blue eyes.  He was last seen wearing jail issued tan pants, tan shirt and a green sweatshirt.  The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone if you see him to call 911 or the Sheriff’s Department tip-line at 831-454-2847.

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