Saugus Jail Inmate Recaptured at Freeway

A man serving a 90-day sentence for joy-riding in a stolen car escaped from a minimum security jail facility in Saugus but was recaptured about 15 minutes later as he walked along the nearby Golden State Freeway, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported Monday.

Edward Croswell, 24, walked away from the minimum security Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho in the 29100 block of The Old Road about 9 p.m. Sunday, Sheriff’s Deputy Dean Scoville said.

Croswell’s absence was immediately noticed and deputies from the Santa Clarita Valley station began searching the area. Croswell, still wearing his jail-issue clothes, was sighted about 15 minutes later on the Golden State Freeway near the jail, Scoville said.

Croswell had been serving a 90-day sentence for misdemeanor joy-riding and was scheduled to be released Oct. 30, Scoville said. The inmate was taken to the Santa Clarita station where he was being held on suspicion of escape, a felony.