Convicted Killer Thwarted in Court Escape Attempt

Moments after being convicted Thursday of molesting and murdering a 4-year-old girl, a defendant angrily knocked over his chair and tried to escape from a Los Angeles courtroom before being subdued by bailiffs.

While his sobbing sister repeatedly screamed, “No, Manuel!” and Superior Court jurors looked on in stunned silence, Manuel Gonzales Gomez, 35, held Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Paulson in a headlock for several minutes until other bailiffs came to their colleague’s assistance.

It was the third time this week that a defendant tried to escape or succeeded in escaping from Los Angeles County court buildings.

Struggled Violently

In Thursday’s incident, the wiry Gomez was intercepted just a few feet from his chair but struggled violently with Paulson and fellow bailiff Andrea McGruder.

“He was like a cat facing down a dog once it’s in a corner,” Paulson said later.

Gomez, a farm laborer and garment worker, was convicted after a five-week trial of first-degree murder and two counts of lewd acts with a child in the 1983 slaying of Johanna Navarez, whose body was found in a refrigerator in a Westlake apartment.

He could be sent to prison for life without possibility of parole when he is sentenced May 17, Deputy Dist. Atty. Nicholas Koumjian said.

Wednesday night, defendant Francisco Navarro, who had been arrested on a bench warrant in a drug-related case, bolted for the courtroom door just as he was about to be escorted to a lockup in the downtown Criminal Courts Building, Superior Court Judge David Workman said.

Bailiff Ernest Hockaday, who had been seated at his desk in the courtroom, “literally flew over three rows of benches” to reach the fleeing defendant and tackle him, according to the judge.

Shot to Death

In a third incident this week, Danny Angel Vega, serving three life sentences for kidnaping, escaped from a lockup at the Pasadena Superior Court Building on Monday by brandishing a pistol and knocking down a guard. He was shot to death the following day after he was found hiding under a house in the Mt. Washington area.

Commenting on the escape attempts, Judge Aurelio Munoz, who presides over downtown felony trials, said: “Unfortunately, that’s always a problem when you’re dealing with felons. The sheriff’s office and the courtroom staff should be complimented that there aren’t more (incidents).”