INMATES FACE MORE TROUBLE; DUO'S ESCAPE ATTEMPT ADDS TO CHARGES.

Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Two prisoners who escaped a private security van during a restroom break over the weekend in Canyon Country face charges of kidnapping, auto theft and escape.

Billy Freeman and Geoffrey Johnson, both 41, who were being extradited to Nevada and Utah when they escaped, likely will be charged today, prosecutors said Wednesday. But Los Angeles County officials will allow extradition proceedings to continue.

The pair were among nine men being transported out of state by Extraditions International Inc., a private prisoner transportation service based in Colorado.

The two employees responsible for transporting the men have been suspended without pay as Extraditions International investigates Saturday's 11:50 p.m. escape, company spokesman S.L. Rutherford said.

``If we messed up, we'll atone for our mistakes,'' Rutherford said.

This is the first escape for the 6-year-old company, which transports prisoners under contracts with various law enforcement agencies. The escapes have prompted a review of procedures, Rutherford said.

``We are not sure what facilitated the whole scenario. We are disappointed. We are in awe, so to speak,'' he said.

The drivers had tried to get their charges to the restroom during their last stop - at the Twin Towers Jail in Los Angeles, where Johnson was picked up. Jail officials, however, were too busy to accommodate the extradition company, Rutherford said.

``We get very little cooperation from (jails) that are bigger and busier in general,'' he said.

The two guards, one with seven years' experience in law enforcement and eight months with the company and the other who worked for the company six months, decided to stop on the road, at a Canyon Country AM/PM store.

``You've got to treat inmates like humans,`` Rutherford said.

But while six of the prisoners were using the restrooms, Freeman apparently managed to commandeer the van with Johnson and Robert Nottingham inside. The van sped north on the Antelope Valley Freeway, exited in Acton, ran several stop signs and finally crashed and overturned, officials said.

Johnson, who was driving, suffered broken ribs, a head injury and bruising to his lungs. He remained in serious condition Wednesday at Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

Freeman was in satisfactory condition in the jail ward at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center with an injury to his right hand Wednesday, officials said.

Nottingham was an unwilling participant in the escape, officials said.