2 Young Escapees Captured After Chase

Two escapees from a California Youth Authority facility in Camarillo were captured after they assaulted a woman, stole her car and led sheriff’s deputies on a pursuit through Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village, authorities said Monday.

Mark Laughlin, 18, of Buena Park, and a 17-year-old Burbank youth escaped from the medium-security Ventura School about 4 p.m. Sunday, said CYA spokesman Tak Watanabe. Shortly afterward, the Oxnard woman was assaulted and her car was stolen, authorities said.

The two teen-agers were taken into custody at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday in Westlake Village after they crashed the stolen vehicle into a Ventura County Sheriff’s Department car, Lt. Dick Purnell said.

Purnell said Deputy Bill Irby spotted the stolen car in Thousand Oaks and chased the youths through that city and neighboring Westlake Village. The pair tried to elude deputies by driving through Bennett Park in the 31600 block of Village Center Road but crashed into the deputy’s car and were captured, Purnell said.

Irby was treated at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks for injuries to his neck, authorities said. He was not hospitalized.

The youths, who were serving terms for auto theft, face new felony charges of assault, auto theft and escaping from an institution, Watanabe said. He said authorities had not determined how the pair escaped.

The 17 year-old was in Ventura County Juvenile Hall, and Laughlin was being held at Oxnard City Jail.