not so great escapes

All Inmates Recaptured From California Jailbreak

Got em. Photo: Orange County Sheriff’s Department

After a week-long manhunt, all three inmates who had escaped a maximum-security prison in Santa Ana, California, have now been recaptured. The two remaining escapees, 37-year-old Hossein Nayeri and 20-year-old Jonathan Tieu, were arrested Saturday morning in San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury district, reports the Los Angeles Times. The third convict, 43-year-old Bac Duong, had turned himself in to police on Friday. All three men were in prison awaiting trial for violent crimes, including torture, kidnapping, and murder. 

Authorities were apparently led to Nayeri and Tieu after being tipped off by a woman in San Francisco who recognized the white van the men had reportedly stolen. When officers approached the van, Nayeri ran from the vehicle and was chased and quickly arrested, while Tieu was found hiding inside the van. Officers found ammunition inside the van as well, but no weapons. Authorities had begun to suspect the men were in the Bay Area after a motel manager in the region alerted law enforcement that the two men might have stayed at his motel for two nights. Prior to that, the hunt for the men had primarily been focused in southern California, which is where the men had escaped from prison in Orange County. The escapees were at least partially aided by a language teacher at the prison, who had exchanged letters with Nayeri and formed a relationship that was, according to police, “much closer and much more personal than it should have been.” In addition, police had been putting pressure on Vietnamese criminal organizations in California which Tieu had been previously associated with, an effort which led to raids and some arrests

This post has been updated to reflect new information about the developing story.

All Inmates Recaptured From California Jailbreak