MARYSVILLE — An inmate accused of sneaking out of the Marysville jail after a Bible study class is now charged with felony escape.
Marysville jailers didn’t notice that Rhyan Vasquez, 19, was missing from the city lockup until his attorney showed up for a visit two days later.
A Sept. 22 video shows Vasquez and several other inmates walking back from a visitation area, where they were attending a religious service. Vasquez is seen looking around the room and then backing out of the door into a hallway, court papers said.
He walked down a flight of stairs and exited the building into a parking lot for police vehicles. He had removed his shirt but was still wearing his jail-issued, black-and-white striped pants.
A custody office in charge of escorting the inmates back to their cells said he never saw Vasquez leave the room.
The Marysville teenager was booked into jail Sept. 16 for misdemeanor warrants. When he went missing he was scheduled to be moved to the county jail in connection with a robbery investigation.
He is suspected of punching a man in the face and stealing his cellphone and wallet. The man’s jaw was broken during the robbery.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Toni Montgomery asked that Vasquez be held on $50,000 bail for the escape. He’s also being held in the Snohomish County Jail on $200,000 for the robbery allegation.
In asking for the bail, Montgomery said Vasquez has failed to show up for more than 20 court hearings in the past. Vasquez earned his first criminal conviction at the age of 14. The Marysville Police Department is expected to complete an internal investigation into the escape. The city lockup can hold up to 57 inmates. Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley
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