Civilians Capture Escapee
Auburn, Calif — After successfully eluding more than three dozen Placer County law enforcement officers, an escaped inmate was finally corralled by about a half-dozen bystanders at a North Auburn Harley-Davidson shop.
The chase began Wednesday afternoon (Jan. 28), when Placer County Jail inmate David L. Todd, 49, was being transported to a nearby medical facility for X-rays after he reported that he’d fallen.
Miraculously regaining his health, Todd sprang from the chair and outran a pursuing deputy.
According to the Placer County Sheriff’s Press Information Office, Todd then reportedly carjacked a Dodge van, only to abandon that at a nearby park creek.
Two hours later, Todd, wearing a jail-issued orange jumpsuit, was spotted by local residents emerging from the woods soaking wet, and the civilian chase began, abrutly ending at the Highway 49 motorcycle shop where onlookers takled him him and, with the aid of a police science student’s handcuffs, held him until deputies arrived.
Placer County Jail records show Todd had been arrested Dec. 8, 2008, after a video tape recording showed him burglarizing the Raspberry Hill Golf Course pro shop.
Jail records show Todd now faces additional charges of assault with a deadly weapon, battery on a peace officer, car theft and carjacking, and escape.
He’s currently being held without bail at the jails’ maximum security unit.
