CDFW wardens arrested him after he was found wandering in fire evacuation area
“CDFW wardens were assisting with protecting property in an evacuation area. It is never easy for residents to evacuate and leave their homes behind. They count on law enforcement to protect their neighborhood during a time when most homes are empty and ripe for looting. We thank allied agencies for coming together to assist during wildfires.”
CSLEA President Alan Barcelona
BUTE COUNTY – On August 7, 2024, Zackary Mason Elliott, 22, of Oroville, who was arrested after being found illegally wandering within the closed area of the Thompson Fire and then escaped while handcuffed, pleaded guilty to nine separate charges in Butte County Superior Court. Elliott pleaded guilty to charges including escaping from custody, evading a peace officer while driving recklessly, providing a false name, resisting an officer, theft (of handcuffs), vandalism, and drug possession charges. The charge of reckless driving to escape the police carries a potential sentence of three years in state prison, while the rest of the charges are misdemeanors.
The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on July 3, 2024, at approximately 2:15 a.m., in the east Oroville area where California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) wardens were patrolling areas that were under mandatory evacuation orders at the time due to the Thompson Fire which had begun the day before. The wardens were part of a large contingent of local and out-of-area officers helping keep the area residences safe from potential looters.
While guarding a road closure on Oro Dam Boulevard East near Glen Drive, the wardens noticed a vehicle approaching from within a closed area, however the vehicle rapidly turned around and sped away when it got close to the roadblock. A CDFW lieutenant pursued the vehicle and stopped it for traffic violations near Pine Oaks Road. Elliott, the driver and only occupant, attempted to explain his presence in the closed evacuation zone as wanting to visit his grandmother, but he could not provide her name, address, or contact information.
Initially, Elliott provided a false name, which he ultimately admitted was because he had warrants for his arrest from Southern California for theft. The CDFW lieutenant arrested Elliott on the warrants and placed him in handcuffs. Elliott was in the process of being placed in a patrol car when another unrelated vehicle pulled up and the occupants began to aggressively argue with a nearby Butte County Sheriff’s deputy. That confrontation became physical due to the actions of the other driver, and the CDFW lieutenant and other wardens moved to assist the deputy. In the confusion, Elliott was able to slip the cuffs to the front of his body and run to his car. He jumped in and sped away, pursued by the lieutenant’s vehicle. Elliott fled at speeds exceeding 100 mph on Oro Dam Boulevard heading into downtown Oroville, and drove through two additional roadblocks, causing Butte County Public Works employees, who were staffing them, to quickly move out of the way. Due to Elliott’s extremely dangerous driving, the decision was made to cease the pursuit for public safety. For the next week, CDFW wardens, along with the District Attorney’s Office, worked to locate Elliott – who was now an escaped prisoner – and get him back into custody safely.
Investigators eventually discovered Elliott had gone out of county for work and would likely be returning to Butte County on Friday, July 12, 2024. When Elliott returned, his car was met at the county line by three California Highway Patrol vehicles along with three CDFW vehicles. Elliott’s car was boxed in and Elliott was taken into custody.
In Elliott’s car officers located methamphetamine and a pipe. Elliott admitted to his escape and described how he had cut off the handcuffs and stashed them at a friend’s property. Wardens responded to that location and discovered the handcuffs, cut open and in two pieces, hidden in a speaker box in the yard. Elliott’s girlfriend, Elizabeth Fay Egger, 24, also of Oroville, was also later located and arrested that same day for aiding a fugitive after it was discovered she knew Elliott had escaped, drove him out of the county, and allowed him to use her car. Egger will next appear in court on August 28, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. to set a date for her preliminary hearing.
As a result of his pleas, Elliott faces up to three years in state prison on the evading felony charge and several years in county jail on the misdemeanors when he next appears in court on September 4, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. Elliott remains in custody without bail pending sentencing.
