Photo: Gerardo Vasquez Rivera
July 13, 2020 – Santa Barbara, Ca.
Maybe he’s seen Escape from Alcatraz one too many times, but you certainly can’t fault 19- year-old Oxnard resident Gerardo Vasquez Rivera for not trying to enjoy life as a free man.
Among Rivera’s personal challenges, however, is that on July 11th he was an inmate residing at
the Santa Barbara County Jail, with pending charges that include multiple counts of burglary,
vehicle theft, possession of a loaded stolen firearm, resisting arrest, receiving stolen property,
providing false ID to a peace officer, and driving without license.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Raquel Zick, “Rivera’s bail at the time was set at $90,000.”
Apparently the weight of the charges against him made it difficult for Rivera to earn the trust of
the many local area bail bond operators, and he remained behind bars working in “the laundry
facility adjacent to the Main Jail,” long recognized as a job involving a certain amount of trust
on the part of the jail’s custody staff.
On the morning of the 11th , however, Rivera violated that trust and took the opportunity to flee the jail premises and bolt for freedom.
Once it was determined that Rivera was no longer at his job and was, in fact, missing, “deputies
searched the area.” Forty minutes later, deputies found him a mile away “where he was
retaken into custody.”
Unfortunately, Rivera suffered minor injuries during his escape and as a consequence of his subsequent contact with deputies. Once he was treated at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for his injuries, Rivera was rebooked on a felony charge of escape, with his bail rescinded. He’s now held without bail.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
