2 Inmates Slip Away From Honor Facility

OJAI — Two inmates from the Ojai Honor Farm apparently slipped away from the facility during a work assignment, the first “walkaways” from the minimum security jail this year, officials said.

Joe Tony Velasquez, 33, and Frank Caballero, 30, both of Oxnard, were among 11 inmates working at the facility’s pig farm Sunday afternoon when officials realized Velasquez was missing, said Sgt. Edward Smith, the honor farm’s administrative sergeant. A subsequent count revealed Caballero was missing as well. Both men were serving short sentences for being under the influence of drugs, officials said.

“Basically, people can walk away any time they want,” Smith said. “But most don’t leave because there is much more to lose than there is to gain by running away. This is a very rare occurrence.”

Lt. Kathy Kemp, who heads the Sheriff’s Department’s major crimes and fugitives units, said the possibility of the two men “committing murder or armed robbery or something is unlikely.” But, she added: “we consider them dangerous because any time you get guys who escape, they don’t want to be caught.”