Escaped Jail Inmate Collared Near Lake Forest Park

The man who escaped Wednesday from Theo Lacy jail has been arrested in Lake Forest, authorities say.

Police tracked William Scott Woodin, 39, to Vintage Park in Lake Forest and arrested him at about 8 p.m. Thursday after a short foot pursuit, according to Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Since Wednesday afternoon, when Woodin squeezed out of a ground-level window at Theo Lacy and fled the jail, a sheriff's special investigation unit has been tracking the inmate using "old-fashioned detective work," Amormino said.

After escaping, Woodin dumped his jail duds outside the jail perimeter. He was spotted shortly after 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at a nearby Carls Jr., Amormino said. He was last seen headed southbound on City Drive.

Assisted by bloodhounds and a helicopter, investigators first tracked Woodin to the area of Trask Avenue and New Hope in Garden Grove on Wednesday. But the dogs lost the trail.

The search continued through the night and all Thursday until Woodin was collared on the 27100 block of Valleymont Road near the park Thursday night.

It's unclear why Woodin was in Lake Forest, though Amormino said he has ties to south Orange County. At one time he lived in Newport Beach, but his last known address is in Arizona.

Woodin was in jail after being charged with parole violation, resisting arrest, petty theft, burglary and drug possession.

A new state law intending to minimize overcrowding in California prisons diverted Woodin to Theo Lacy, instead of a state prison.