Feb. 17--An inmate accused of evading police and felony hit-and-run in Los Banos last month is back in custody after escaping from the John Latorraca Correctional Center on Tuesday.
Morgan Hill resident Zachary William Johnson, 32, escaped through a hole in the ceiling of a shower area at the Latorraca facility. After getting onto the roof, Johnson threw a blanket over the razor-wire fence and climbed over, according to the Merced County Sheriff's Department. He then used a taxi to get to the Los Banos area.
Assisted by a girlfriend in Los Banos, 40-year-old Jeanette Segovia, and his wife in San Jose, 25-year-old Dawn Hathaway, officials say, Johnson was able to get money and secure another taxi to take him to his wife in San Jose, but the trip ended not long after it began.
Sheriff's deputies found that money was being wired to a Western Union in Santa Nella, Sheriff Mark Pazin said during a news conference Wednesday. Authorities followed a suspicious taxi that left the area while they were running surveillance.
A traffic stop was made near highways 152 and 33, Pazin said. That's when the taxi driver got out and Johnson got behind the wheel and led officers on a chase that lasted more than 39 miles and took more than half an hour "at some breakneck speeds."
As the taxi gained ground on deputies, California Highway Patrol officers noticed the erratic driving and joined in on the chase, Pazin said. The officers radioed ahead to Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department deputies, who joined in the pursuit. The CHP put down a spike strip on Highway 152, stopping the taxi.
Johnson fled the scene and ran into a poultry building near the Gilroy Premium Outlets, but later came out and surrendered, Pazin said.
Johnson was brought to the Merced County Jail, and his wife and girlfriend, who were arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting, were booked into the John Latorraca Correctional Center, Pazin said.
Johnson is being held at Merced County Jail on $970,000 bail on suspicion of escape, carjacking and possession of methamphetamine.
"I guess that was a gift from one of his girlfriends or the wife," Pazin said, adding that Johnson apparently "wanted to spend some time with his lady friends on Valentine's Day."
Before the escape, Johnson was in the John Latorraca Correctional Center awaiting trial for alleged offenses in Los Banos.
On Jan. 20, the Los Banos Police Department received information that Johnson was in the 1500 block of West Pacheco Boulevard. He was wanted on an arrest warrant in connection with a residential burglary in December in the 1800 Block of De Anza Way.
Detective Eduardo Solis found Johnson sitting in a maroon GMC Yukon, which was reported stolen. Law enforcement said Johnson drove away, striking a police car in the process.
Officers attempted to stop Johnson on East Pacheco Boulevard by using emergency lights and sirens. It did not work. Johnson began driving at a high rate of speed toward oncoming traffic. Officers terminated the pursuit as Johnson passed Seventh Street, continuing east on Pacheco Boulevard.
Police said minutes later Johnson crashed into another vehicle at the intersection of Mercey Springs Road and Pacheco Boulevard. A 2-year-old girl suffered a broken collar bone and a possible concussion in the crash. She was airlifted to Children's Hospital Central California in Madera. She was later released from the hospital.
Before Johnson's escape, he was being held on several counts of felony evading, felony hit-and-run, stalking and narcotics violations and resisting arrest.
The last escape from John Latorraca Correctional Center was in February 2009, MacKenzie said. That inmate was later found in the rafters of the building.
Enterprise staff writer Corey Pride can be reached at 388-6563 or cpride@losbanos
enterprise.com.
The Merced Sun-star staff contributed to this report.
Copyright 2012 - Los Banos Enterprise, Calif.
