JAIL ESCAPE WARNING ALERTS SLEEPY CASTAIC.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

When the deep-voiced sirens screamed through neighborhoods Sunday, people knew just what to do: lock their doors and windows, set their car and home alarms and stay inside.

Many residents said they reacted with fear after they were told Sunday a three-time convicted rapist and burglar might be loose in their neighborhood where their children play. Yet, they've come to live with the escapees, they said.

``It happens every once in awhile. You can't get very far in an orange suit,'' said Mike Berkman, who more than once in the last 15 years has seen inmates traversing his brother's Castaic neighborhood.

``We've seen them walking on freeways and in back yards. It's not that big of a deal,'' he said.

Castaic resident Shawn Agnew figures escapees would not have a chance to commit crimes in his neighborhood, which is home to many law enforcement officers.

Early Sunday, residents were alerted by air raid-type sirens and deputies speaking through loudspeakers on patrol cars. Officials said an inmate, later identified as Pedro R. Carvajal, 38, may have escaped the maximum-security facility at Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center.

Authorities notified homeowners to stay inside and report anyone suspicious. Signs were put up in housing tracts and on the freeway to discourage motorists from picking up hitchhikers.

But the man never escaped at all. He was found hiding in a jail basement filled with dried foods about 6 p.m. Sunday, authorities reported. He had was missing in a bed check shortly before 5 a.m.

Carvajal's discovery came after 150 sheriff's deputies, several police dogs and a helicopter combed the area around the jail for about 12 hours, said sheriff's Deputy Carrie Stuart.

Carvajal, who may have ridden an elevator down to the storage area, will probably be charged with attempted escape, deputies said. It is unlikely he could have tunneled out of the basement with power tools, deputies said.

Carvajal faced sentencing Thursday for convictions in three rapes and three burglaries, officials said. He broke into three homes and raped the occupants, they said. Prosecutors intend to ask for 93 years to life in prison.

The last escape from the detention center was about a year ago, when inmate Feliz Ortega, a convicted drug dealer housed at a medium-security facility, apparently walked away from a work detail.

Residents demanded a siren system after 14 inmates escaped the maximum-security facility in April 1995, marking the county's largest jail break.

The inmates tied sheets together and climbed over a fence after punching a hole in the ceiling of an overcrowded dorm packed with bunks stacked three-high.

That time, Castaic resident Marilyn Powers said, one of her neighbors found an inmate tucked under her car cover.

The 1995 escape also led to increased security measures, including more razor wire on a perimeter fence.

Barry King, the chief of the custody division for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, said anything is possible with inmates at the detention center, which was originally set up as a ranch and dairy farm.

``In most cases, the (escapees) try to go back to their homes and are looking for cars,'' he said.