Dangerous Inmates Escape From County's New Jail In Kent -- Two Fled; One Was The Shooter At Airport

Two violent offenders - a mentally ill teenager and a man who shot and nearly killed a woman in the Sea-Tac airport parking garage last December - were still at large today after escaping last night from the county's new jail in Kent.

The escape from the Regional Justice Center has sparked a statewide manhunt and raises questions about just how secure the five-month-old facility really is.

The fugitives, Kinnick Sanford, 27, and Vanna Rann, 17, broke out at about 9:30 last night.

Court records show that Rann has been diagnosed as having bipolar disorder, which the doctor said posed "an extremely dangerous illness to himself and those around him."

Sanford, who was convicted of attempted murder in the airport-garage shooting, and Rann, who was being held on a first-degree-assault charge, made their way to a nearby service station where they carjacked a sedan, said Art Wallenstein, director of the county Department of Adult Detention.

The abandoned car was found this morning in Renton.

Both escapees are regarded as extremely dangerous, he said, and anyone seeing them should notify police rather than take their own action.

This is the first escape from the new 898-bed jail, which is run by the county. It was a different facility, the Kent City Jail, from which three federal prisoners escaped earlier this year. All three were later caught.

As a result of last night's escape, Wallenstein said he expects some backlash from the community: " . . . We'll accept our responsibility, take the criticism and correct the problem. No excuses, no blaming, just correct the problem."

There was no indication that the prisoners had any outside help, Wallenstein said. That is still being investigated, but "we know of no assistance."

A third prisoner, Kevin Brunson, 27, charged with first-degree robbery, was trying to follow Sanford and Rann when jail guards saw him and ordered him to climb down from a basketball backboard the escapees had just used to reach the top of a concrete wall.

Wallenstein said the escape was made from a 30-by-40-foot exercise yard enclosed by 20-foot-high and 11-inch-thick concrete walls. Chain-link fencing covers the exercise yard like a ceiling and is attached to the top of the concrete walls with large steel rods bolted into the concrete.

"That was not the problem. They cut the chain-link," Wallenstein said. "That is a weak point that we will correct. This was not designed to be impenetrable."

Inmates were playing basketball

Wallenstein said the two fugitives were playing basketball in the yard last night. Sometime after 9 p.m., they leaped onto the backboard, which allowed them to reach a narrow metal crossbeam in the ceiling.

They used either the crossbeam or the chain-link ceiling to move hand-over-hand about 15 feet to one corner of the yard where they cut a narrow, 18-inch hole in the chain-link ceiling, folded it back and pulled themselves through to the roof.

Tools likely used in cutting the hole were found on the roof, along with a bedsheet and some blue cloth, Wallenstein said.

The recreation area does not have surveillance cameras, but a guard checks the area periodically, Wallenstein said. "They found a weak spot," he said.

After cutting through the fencing, the escapees merely had to walk across the roof and drop to the ground. That happened at about 9:30 p.m.

They went to a service station at Washington and James, where they commandeered the car.

As the jail staff began a count of prisoners after capturing Brunson, pedestrians outside the jail reported seeing a man in a distinctive, red jail jumpsuit outside the jail and reported it to Kent police, Wallenstein said.

The escapees one of them, by then, shed his red jumpsuit and fled in his underwear. They were not believed to be armed and the couple whose car they took were not injured, Wallenstein said.

King County Executive Ron Sims said this morning that he has asked the county's Department of Facilities Maintenance to review the jail's design and propose any necessary changes.

"We will make those changes immediately," Sims said.

Sims also said that he placed a limit today of five inmates allowed in the jail's recreation yard at one time. Until now, there was no limit. "The jail will be made even more secure than it is," he said.

Sims also said he will schedule a community meeting in Kent soon to discuss jail security.

Community had concerns

Concerns about the impact a jail would have on the community date back to 1992, when Kent was being considered as a possible site. Though residents expressed concerns about the impact newly released inmates might have on children and neighbors, both the city and the Kent Chamber of Commerce endorsed the site.

Kent Mayor Jim White said today he wants an accounting.

"I want to be reassured that the building is secure, and I will be asking the county to come to our City Council meeting next Tuesday to give a full report," he said. "They gave us assurance the building would never be a problem. It's a bit unnerving."

Wallenstein said the jail can house any type of offender, including violent offenders. In fact, Sanford and Rann were housed in a unit that held only violent offenders.

With a ratio of one guard to 64 inmates, the jail has an open living concept - inmates do not have to stay in their cells all the time, but can mingle in common areas and have access to the recreational yards.

Inmates in the unit where the escape took place are now in lock-down, with each inmate in his individual cell, Wallenstein said.

The manhunt for the fugitives is being conducted by the multi-agency Seattle-area Fugitive Apprehension Team.

Jail declared `secure'

Wallenstein said the Kent facility is "absolutely secure," and that his staff did nothing wrong. The escape, he said, is the result of an architectural problem.

Sanford, who was awaiting sentencing, was convicted last month in the shooting and botched robbery of Soheila Motamed, 40, in the parking garage at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. A King County Superior Court jury deliberated less than six hours before finding him guilty. His last local address was in Tacoma.

In an emotional courtroom scene during the trial, Motamed, leaning heavily on a cane as she walked slowly to the witness box, described for jurors how Sanford had attacked her.

Sanford, she said, ordered her into a car and climbed into the driver's seat next to her. She saw his gun, she said, and repeatedly asked him, "What do you want? The next thing I knew I was on the ground and I saw blood. That's when I asked God to help me."

Though a bullet had penetrated her brain, she didn't lose consciousness and was able to cry for help. A military officer heard her screams and got help.

The King County prosecutor's office was going to recommend the high range of 27 1/2 years for Sanford because of the seriousness of the crime and because he is so dangerous, said spokesman Dan Donohoe.

Besides the convictions in the Motamed case, Sanford has convictions for being a felon in possession of a weapon, both in California, records show.

Sanford also was convicted of attempted robbery and possession of stolen property taken in another robbery in the airport parking garage five days earlier. Prosecutors said during the trial that Sanford was a member of the Crips gang.

Rann had lived both in Seattle and Lewis County and was to be returned to the state's Green Hill juvenile facility when he completes his King County court appearances, Wallenstein said.

Rann was to go on trial Oct. 13 for an assault last fall at Kentridge High School. The assault stemmed from an incident in which one gang member threw a can of pop at another. That led to an angry confrontation between the two groups the next day at the school.

That, in turn, led to a car chase in Kent in which Rann is accused of firing six shots from a .22-caliber pistol at youths in another car on the Benson Road.

A police gang expert said Rann was "an active gang member and a serious danger to the community," according to court documents. He also was likely to re-offend if released from custody, the expert said.

Although he was only 16 at the time, Rann already had been convicted of 11 juveniles felonies, mostly car thefts and eluding police.

Dee Norton's phone message number is 206-464-2255. His e-mail address is: dnor-new@seatimes.com

Seattle Times staff reporters Arthur Santana, Peyton Whitely and Eric Pryne contributed to this report.