CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : CHULA VISTA : Security Beefed Up After Jailbreaks

The South Bay Detention Facility, scene of two major escapes in a month, will be patrolled on the outside by two security guards who will be armed, authorities said. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, which runs the jails, decided to increase the number of outdoor guards to two and allowed them to be armed with pistols in response to the latest jailbreak. On Tuesday night, eight inmates escaped from the jail, including a convicted murderer and a prisoner who was facing murder charges. Seven of the eight remain at large. The eighth was captured minutes after the breakout, which was nearly identical to a March 7 escape from the jail involving 13 inmates, four of whom remain at large. In both jailbreaks, inmates used hacksaw blades or other tools to cut through steel bars on the windows, then used ropes made of bedsheets to lower themselves 35 feet to the ground.