Amador County – A Pine Grove Camp work crew escapee was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Sacramento last week, 15 hours after escaping custody from a Sutter Creek roadside work site, with the help of two accomplices in a motor vehicle.

Corrections authorities last week said Angel Iniquez, 19, a juvenile offender serving since May in the Pine Grove Camp, was arrested at about 2 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28, at a residence in the 2400 block of Connie Drive in Sacramento.

Iniquez reportedly was aided in the escape when another inmate on the work crew suffered a cut to his leg from a chainsaw and required medical attention. As guards were distracted, Iniquez then entered into a white compact car, which left the scene, as the crew worked to clear vegetation along old Highway 49 in Sutter Creek. The escape occurred at about 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 27. The other inmates were then returned to the Pine Grove Camp, and local authorities were alerted. Iniquez, a Monterey County resident, is expected to face charges for the escape.

Also last week, the California Department of Corrections announced the closure of the Camarillo Conservation Camp in Ventura County. With its closure, Dec. 30, it left the Pine Grove Camp as the only similar camp still open in California. It trains the inmates in fire fighting as hand crews, which help with wild-land fire fighting. CDCR decided to consolidate the state’s conservation training at Pine Grove.

CDCR said the crews in Pine Grove do 15-20 community projects a week in Amador County and the surrounding region, and the escape last week was the first such attempt in seven years at the Pine Grove Camp.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.