Man escapes from Main Jail

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said that it is conducting an internal investigation after an inmate escaped from Main Jail Monday night.

Craig Souza, 34, who has a history of non-violent drug offenses and theft, was arrested at 5:14 p.m. by Santa Cruz Police for providing a false name to a police officer and a probation violation, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Souza was taken to the Main Jail and placed in a seating area. Just after 7 p.m., Souza reportedly walked to a staff door and was released by a correctional officer who was monitoring a video surveillance system.

Corrections staff noticed Souza was missing at 7:10 p.m. and locked down the jail and alerted Santa Cruz law enforcement personnel to be on the lookout for Souza.

The last escape from the Santa Cruz County Main Jail happened in 2003, when two inmates escaped out of the laundry room. Every year the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office books over 12,000 inmates.

Souza is described as a white male, 34 years old with brown hair and green eyes. He is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds.

He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, black pants, white shoes and a gray baseball cap. Anyone with information is asked to call the non-emergency line at 471-1121 or 911.



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