Deputy watching murder suspect Eric Abril at hospital left the room 14 times, grand jury report says

A deputy assigned to watch accused Roseville park gunman Eric James Abril at a hospital left the room 14 times before Abril’s escape, according to a new report.The Placer County grand jury’s report, released Thursday, sheds new light on failures that led to Abril’s escape from Sutter Roseville Medical Center on July 9, 2023, along with a detailed timeline. Abril was found after a 33-hour manhunt, at a cost of $109,000, according to the report. | RELATED | Read the report here. The report found “misconduct and negligence” on the part of the deputy. It said the deputy had taken off his vest, including his radio, handgun magazines, "impact weapon," body-worn camera, badge and phone, leaving it unattended near Abril as he went to the bathroom. After noticing the inmate’s escape, the deputy rushed to search for him without taking the equipment, according to the report. The first person to alert authorities of Abril’s escape was a California Highway Patrol officer who was on the medical campus at the time and told dispatchers of a “subject in orange jumpsuit, possible escape.” Two minutes later, the deputy responsible for guarding Abril returned to the hospital room to notify dispatchers of the escape, according to the report. The report says the deputy had been out of the room for more than 27 minutes in all for the eight-hour shift. During those periods, the deputy made phone calls, paced the halls and chatted with other nurses and patients.At one point, a nurse was left alone “with an unguarded and dangerous inmate” for more than six minutes, the report said. “The attending deputy’s failure to maintain visual contact of the inmate, to exercise common sense, and to conform to written policy and procedures, substantially contributed to the escape of the inmate, and represented a significant failure to meet one of the essential duties expected of a deputy sheriff,” the grand jury said in its report. The Placer County Sheriff's Office told KCRA 3 Investigates that the deputy is still working with the department. Moreover, the agency said it could not disclose if the deputy was disciplined."We assure any deficiencies discovered were addressed and appropriately resolved," the Sheriff's Office said.Abril is accused of taking two people hostage on April 6, 2023, at Mahany Park, when CHP officers were attempting to execute a felony search warrant in connection with a freeway shooting. One of the hostages was killed during a police shootout, while the other hostage and a law enforcement officer were hurt. Abril was also shot and treated at the time before being cleared for jail. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office previously released a report done with the help of a third-party consultant to review the policies and procedures in place at the time of the escape.That report revealed Abril was taken to Sutter Roseville Medical Center on July 9 because of “possible seizure activity” and that he was monitored by a single deputy at a time. The report had said Abril was initially designated as a "two-officer" inmate due to his charges, but staffing and his behavior in the facility downgraded him to "one-officer." The report recommended that the one- or two-person classification inside a facility should not be used to decide how many officers escort an inmate outside the facility.In response to that report, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office decided to use two officers for all prisoner transport situations. The sheriff’s office said both officers should remain with the inmate at all times and maintain visual contact with them. The new report by the grand jury recommends a formal training program for deputies on transporting inmates and monitoring them. “The grand jury believes the inadequate training of the Placer County’s Sheriff’s Office uniformed staff, coupled with the failure of the policies, procedures, and protocols, contributed to the escape,” the report said. “In addition, relying upon a security status reclassification protocol which fails to consider any given inmate’s incentive to escape based on the seriousness of criminal charges he or she is facing, or the length of an imposed sentence, are believed to have been substantial factors leading to the inmate’s escape.” "We appreciate the grand jury serving as another set of eyes looking at this situation," the Placer County Sheriff's Office said in response to the report.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.Correction (June 27, 2024): An earlier version of this story mischaracterized the weapon that the deputy left unattended. It was an impact weapon, like a baton, not a gun.