Solano County prisoner attempts fire-extinguisher escape

(02-10) 18:24 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- A Solano County Jail inmate injured three sheriff's deputies Monday morning in a failed escape attempt involving a fire extinguisher at the Fairfield courthouse, the Solano County Sheriff's Office said.

Joseph Michael Schabert, 24, of Vacaville tried to make a run for it while he was in the holding area of the jail about 11:30 a.m., said sheriff's deputy Daryl Snedeker.

The holding area is a series of hallways used to transfer inmates to courtrooms in the Solano County Courthouse. Schabert has been in custody since he was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of probation violation and failure to appear for a felony drug case.

When he ran, jail staff members chased after him and radioed for backup from the jail and the courthouse, Snedeker said. He ran into the north holding area of the jail, where he was confined in a small, locked room and confronted by three deputies.

Schabert, in handcuffs, then grabbed a fire extinguisher and discharged it into the deputies' faces, Snedeker said.

Struggling as the room filled with the fire extinguisher discharge, one of the deputies deployed his stun gun and subdued Schabert. They pulled him out of the building through an emergency exit and held him until additional deputies came to their assistance, Snedeker said.

The three deputies were transported to a hospital to be treated for exposure to chemicals. They were later released. Schabert was also transported to a hospital to be treated for exposure to the fire extinguisher chemicals and the effects of the stun gun.

Though Schabert never got to an area in the jail where he could get outside, Snedeker said the investigation into the escape attempt is ongoing and the department will look closely at its policies to determine if any changes are necessary.

"I think it was a spur-of-the-moment sort of opportunity he sought," Snedeker said. "For inmates, sometimes they have nothing to lose but everything to gain. Why they do what they do, we will continue to wonder that."

Schabert is expected to face additional felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon, battery on a peace officer and attempted escape from a jail, as well as additional probation violations. He is being held without bail because of the probation violation.

Schabert had been handcuffed with chains around his waist and his arms secured at his sides at the time of the escape attempt, Snedeker said.

Schabert was not chained around his legs, a security measure used mostly for murder suspects and those who present a threat to public safety, because the leg chains make it difficult for inmates to move from a courtroom to a holding cell.

"Unfortunately for (Schabert ), he now will be" in the leg chains, Snedeker said.