Ernest Perez was 21 years old and a native of Mexico. His first name fits his gaze as he looks seriously up at the camera. The photographer could not have asked for a more beautiful light in which to take Ernest’s mugshot.
He was arrested on October 7, 1922, for petit larceny, details unknown. The jail warden thought he was reliable or he wouldn’t have made him a “trusty” — the inmate in charge of disciplining other prisoners when they were at work outside the jail. If you weren’t into power trips, being the trusty would have been an awful job.
After serving 20 days in the Yuba County jail in Marysville, with 80 more to go, Ernest saw his chance. He took “french leave” and headed into the wild blue yonder of California.
Charles J. McCoy sent out wanted letter after Ernest disappeared, hoping that an officer of the law would see it and see Ernest and arrest him and return him to jail to finish his time.
A police officer prior to being elected sheriff of Yuba County, in 1914, Charles followed his father, Hank McCoy, to the job. He remained in the job for 31 years.
It’s not possible to catch up with Ernest and find out what he did with the rest of his life. Hopefully he found a way to make a good, honest living, but as a Mexican living in 1920s America, that would not have been an easy task.
Featured photo: Ernest Perez, from the collection of the author
Photo of Charles J. McCoy: courtesy of James Casey
Captured and Exposed 
Hi Shayne
Charles’s photo is stunning as much as Ernest’s. Would you call the lighting for Ernest chiaroscuro?
So can we presume Ernest was never re-arrested? What a risk to take when serving such a short sentence. Presumably he changed his name and never had another run in with the law? I’m aching to know more about him!!
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Yes, chiaroscuro lighting for sure! We can’t assume he was never rearrested. I found references to a man of that name being arrested in Colorado in the 1920s but there was minimal info and no way to know if it was the same Ernest Perez. I want to know more too!
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Do you continue to search even after coming to a dead end with some trails? I imagine the avenues of research in terms of online resources is immense and it might be hard to stop.
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I do sometimes continue to research someone. I am still trying to get the death certificate of Mary Jones (Sonny Von Maluski case) from the state of New York.
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It must be frustrating when unnecessary bureaucracy gets in your way. ☹️
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Makes me angry that many states here see genealogical records as nothing more than a revenue source. Attitude vary a lot from state to state.
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Yes, that suggests they have little sense of the historical relevance and interest in them, or a cynical exploitation of same. ☹️
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In researching further arrests, there’s also the real issue of criminals using aliases.
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Definitely! However a Mexican man who was only wanted for petty larceny might not have had the language skills or even the need for an alias. Of course I could be wrong!
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Maybe his position as a “trusty” put him in the crosshairs of other inmates and he felt he had to run for his life. It was probably not a good position for a 21-year-old who was new to prison life.
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Absolutely!
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