Orange County Men's Central Jail escape

Last updated

On January 22, 2016, three inmates of the Orange County Men's Central Jail in Santa Ana, California, escaped from the jail's maximum-security unit by climbing through the plumbing pipes and ascending to the roof. They stole a utility van and a taxi in Los Angeles, taking the taxi driver hostage, and drove to San Jose. One inmate, Bac Duong, went along with the hostage driver back to Southern California and surrendered to police in Santa Ana on January 29. The other two inmates, Hossein Nayeri and Jonathan Tieu, were arrested in San Francisco on January 30. Multiple people were arrested for allegedly aiding the inmates to escape, including a jail teacher. [1]

Contents

Suspects

Hossein Nayeri, 38, was convicted of torture and kidnapping charges for his role in the October 2012 abduction of a marijuana dispensary owner, Michael, from his Newport Beach home. During the abduction, the suspects drove the victim to the Mojave Desert, burned him with a blowtorch, and cut off his penis, in an attempt to obtain information about hidden money. [2] Nayeri then fled to Iran, where he has relatives, and was arrested at an airport in Prague, Czech Republic. He was extradited back to Orange County to face charges in the torture case. [3] He has military experience from serving in the United States Marine Corps. [4]

In August 2019, Nayeri was convicted of two counts of kidnapping and torture of Michael, but the jury failed to reach a verdict on the charge of aggravated mayhem. [5] The following year, he received two sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole for kidnapping, with an additional seven-year sentence added for his torture conviction. [6] In 2023, Nayeri was convicted of escaping from prison, as well as stealing a van, but acquitted of kidnapping cab driver Long Ma. He was subsequently sentenced to an additional two years and eight months for the escape, on top of his life sentence for the kidnapping of the marijuana dispensary owner. [7] [6]

Jonathan Tieu, 20, and Bac Duong, 43, are believed to be associated with Vietnamese-American street gangs. Tieu, an alleged Tiny Rascal gang member, is suspected of murder and attempted murder for a March 20, 2011, shooting outside a pool hall in Garden Grove, California, that killed 19-year-old Scottie Bui and injured another man. Tieu was tried for the shooting, but a jury was deadlocked on the charges and a mistrial was declared. He was scheduled to be retried on the charges. [3]

Duong is charged with attempted murder, assault with a firearm, and firing into a residence. This was in relation to an incident in which he shot and wounded a man in Santa Ana in November 2015. He has a criminal record dating back to a residential burglary conviction in San Diego County in 1995. In 2007, he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of burglary and receiving stolen property, and was sentenced to two years imprisonment. In February 2008, Duong pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to sell, possession of a firearm by a felon, and evading police, and was sentenced to six years in prison. In May 2011, Duong pleaded guilty to another charge of possession of cocaine with intent to sell and the sale or transport of a controlled substance, and was sentenced to three years in prison. [3] [8] [9]

In 2022, Duong was sentenced to 20 years in prison. [10] In April 2023, Tieu plead guilty to felony charges of escape and kidnapping, and was sentenced to eight years in prison, but with credit for time served. [11]

Escape

Duong, Nayeri, and Tieu escaped from the jail on January 21 in the evening, by cutting through four layers of steel grating and rebar inside the building, climbing through a plumbing conduit to the roof, and lowering themselves four floors to the ground with a rope. They claim to have had a duffel bag and backpack of tools, high grade industrial rope and, civilian clothing. [12] They were not reported missing until 9:00 p.m. the following day, and their escape was confirmed at midnight. [4] Duong allegedly pressed a handgun into the rib cage of a taxicab driver outside a Target store in Rosemead, stole the vehicle, and took the driver hostage. They hid at the Flamingo Inn Motel in Rosemead for at least one night. They then stole a utility van from a private seller who advertised it through a Craigslist posting, in South Los Angeles. They never returned it after a test drive, and drove it along with the taxicab to San Jose, where they stayed at The Alameda Motel. [13]

Duong was arguing with the other inmates on deciding whether to kill the taxicab driver, and went along with him to drive back to southern California in the cab. Duong released the driver, walked into a friend's auto shop business in Santa Ana on January 29, and called the police to surrender. [13] [14] On January 30, Nayeri and Tieu were arrested outside a McDonald's restaurant at the intersection of Haight Street and Stanyan Street near the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Nayeri was detained after a short foot chase, and Tieu was arrested while inside the van. Police found ammunition in the van, but did not find a firearm. [1]

The Orange County Sheriff's Department offered a $200,000 reward for the capture of the inmates. [4]

In 2017, Nayeri's lawyer released cellphone footage of their escape. [12]

Additional arrests

Nooshafarin Ravaghi, a writer who taught English at the jail, was initially thought to have provided the inmates Google Maps information that included overviews of the jail rooftop and surrounding areas, but was cleared shortly thereafter. She was arrested and released from jail on February 1. [9] Loc Ba Nguyen, an associate of Duong, was arrested for allegedly smuggling in tools that the inmates used to cut through the steel grating and barbed wire. He was formally charged with aiding the inmates' escape on February 1. Investigators have not revealed how he smuggled the tools into the jail. [13] Three other arrests were made, including arrests of Vietnamese gang members. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Quentin Rehabilitation Center</span> Mens prison in California, US

San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Institution for Women</span> Womens prison in Chino, California

California Institution for Women (CIW) is a women's state prison located in the city of Chino, San Bernardino County, California, east of Los Angeles, although the mailing address states "Corona," which is in Riverside County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Men's Colony</span> American male-only state prison

California Men's Colony (CMC) is a male-only state prison located northwest of the city of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California, along the central California coast approximately halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Ng</span> Hong Kong serial killer on death row in the U.S.

Charles Chi-tat Ng is a convicted Hong Kong-born serial killer who committed numerous crimes in the United States. He is believed to have raped, tortured, and murdered between eleven and twenty-five victims with his accomplice Leonard Lake at Lake's cabin in Calaveras County, California, 60 miles (96 km) from Sacramento, between 1983 and 1985. After his arrest and imprisonment in Canada on robbery and weapons charges, followed by a lengthy dispute between Canada and the U.S., Ng was extradited to California, tried, and convicted of eleven murders. He is currently on death row at California Medical Facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ADX Florence</span> Federal supermax prison located in Fremont County, Colorado, US

The United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility, commonly known as ADX Florence or the Florence Supermax, is an American federal prison in Fremont County to the south of Florence, Colorado, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. ADX Florence, constructed in 1994 and opened one year later, is classed as a supermax or "control unit" prison, that provides a higher, more controlled level of custody than a regular maximum security prison. ADX Florence forms part of the Federal Correctional Complex, Florence, which is situated on 49 acres of land and houses different facilities with varying degrees of security, including the adjacent United States Penitentiary, Florence High.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Corbett Jr.</span> American murderer

Joseph Corbett Jr. was an American fugitive, murderer, and prison escapee who, in 1960, was placed on the FBI's 10 most wanted list after kidnapping and murdering Adolph Coors III, heir to the Coors beer fortune.

Thomas and Jackie Hawks were a couple from Prescott, Arizona, United States, who were murdered in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago</span> U.S. federal prison

The Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago is a United States federal prison in Chicago, Illinois, which holds male and female prisoners of all security levels prior to and during court proceedings in the Northern District of Illinois, as well as inmates serving brief sentences. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Institution for Men</span> State prison in Chino, California

California Institution for Men (CIM) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Chino, San Bernardino County, California. It is often colloquially referenced as "Chino". In turn, locals call the prison "Chino Men's" or just "Men's" to avoid confusion with the city itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central California Women's Facility</span> Female prison in Chowchilla, California

Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) is a female-only California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison located in Chowchilla, California. It is across the road from Valley State Prison. CCWF is the second largest female correctional facility in the United States, and houses the only State of California death row for women.

On 6 October 1972, at a one-teacher school in the rural town of Faraday in Victoria, Australia, two plasterers, Edwin John Eastwood and Robert Clyde Boland, kidnapped six female pupils and their teacher for a $1,000,000 ransom. The Victorian government claimed it would pay the ransom. The victims escaped and the criminals were captured, tried and convicted. Eastwood escaped and later kidnapped a teacher and nine pupils. He was again captured, convicted and sentenced. While in prison, Eastwood strangled convicted rapist Glen Davies in what was ruled self-defence. He was eventually released, having served his sentence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Son</span> American convicted felon (born 1970)

Joseph Hyungmin Son is a South Korean-born American murderer and a former mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and actor. Prior to his 2008 arrest, he was best known for his appearance in the 1997 film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. In 2011, he was sentenced to seven years to life in prison in California for torture committed during a 1990 gang rape. After beating his cell mate Michael Thomas Graham to death, he was sentenced to an additional 27 years for voluntary manslaughter. He is now serving 34 years to life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clovis, New Mexico jail break</span> 2008 jail escape

The Clovis, New Mexico jail break refers to an August 24, 2008 jail escape from the Curry County Adult Detention Center.

Ed Davis was an American burglar, bank robber, and Depression-era outlaw. He was particularly active in Oklahoma, referred to by authorities as "The Fox", and frequently teamed with Jim Clark and Frank Sawyer during the early 1930s. Eventually captured in 1934, he was involved in a failed escape attempt from Folsom State Prison, resulting in the deaths of one guard and two inmates, and was executed at San Quentin.

In May 2014, Isidro Medrano Garcia, who had been living under the name Tomas Medrano or Tomas Madrano, was arrested and accused by police of kidnapping a 15-year-old girl in 2004 and repeatedly raping her and continuing to hold her captive until 2014. Garcia was accused of forcing the alleged victim to marry him in 2007. As time moved on, the woman had a child with Garcia on October 27, 2010, or in 2012, and they continued to live openly together as a family in Bell Gardens, California, until the woman contacted her sister through Facebook and met with her mother in April 2014. She filed a domestic violence complaint with Bell Gardens police on May 19, 2014. As a married couple, Garcia and the woman had an apparently active social life in the community, including hosting large parties and the woman spending time and running errands by herself, having her own car, and working outside the home. However, police said the woman had tried to escape twice and been severely beaten. Through his attorney, Garcia claimed that the woman made up the story of abuse because the couple was breaking up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogun prison break</span>

The Ogun prison break was an attack on the Sagamu minimum prison in the southwestern Nigerian city of Ogun State by Prisoners. The attack occurred on 4 January 2013. About 20 prisoners escaped from the prison leaving several prison officials and prisoners seriously injured with no deaths recorded. About 4 escaped convicts were rearrested by the Armed Squad of the Prison Service. It was reported that one escaped convict returned to the prison voluntarily to serve out his short sentence

In March 2015, two incidents of bullying and assaults occurred in Rowland Heights, California, with Chinese nationals as the perpetrators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Halbower</span> American murderer and suspected serial killer

Rodney Lynn Halbower is an American serial killer. He is the prime suspect in the Gypsy Hill killings, a series of murders of young women in San Mateo County, California and Reno, Nevada), whose killer was named The San Mateo Slasher. In March 2014, based on DNA profiling, Halbower was named as a person of interest in the murders. By this time, Cathy Woods, a mental patient who was convicted for one of the victims' murders, had already been exonerated after 35 years behind bars. He has been convicted of three murders and is believed to be linked to two murders related to the Gypsy Hill killings. At the time of his identification, Halbower himself had been imprisoned for 38 years in Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darnell Keith Washington</span> American murderer on death row

Darnell Keith Washington is an American convicted murderer, robber, and carjacker. In 2012, he escaped from the Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center where he was awaiting trial for armed robbery, later joining his wife in a crime spree consisting of multiple robberies, carjackings, the shooting of a police deputy, and the murder of a retired school teacher. Upon their arrest, Washington was convicted and sentenced to death.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Latest: Sheriff to provide update on 2 fugitive inmates". San Francisco Chronicle . January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  2. ↑ Fry, Hannah (20 July 2018). "Fountain Valley man sentenced to life in prison in kidnapping and torture of marijuana dispensary owner". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  3. 1 2 3 Austin, Paige (January 26, 2016). "The Long and Sordid Rap Sheets of OC's Escaped Prisoners". Mission Viejo . Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Jacobo, Julia; Francis, Enjoli (January 27, 2016). "Several Arrests Made in Connection With California Prison Escapes, But Inmates Still Sought". ABC News . Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Convicted kidnapper and torturer Hossein Nayeri talks about his charges, history of escaping the law". ABC News. 2020-03-13. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  6. 1 2 "California jailbreak mastermind sentenced for daring escape". Associated Press. 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  7. ↑ Goffard, Christopher (2023-03-16). "Man serving life for grisly O.C. kidnap-torture scheme is convicted in 2016 jail escape". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  8. ↑ Richards, Tori (January 26, 2016). "Mutilation-torture suspect among three escapees from California jail". Reuters . Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Dobuzinskis, Alex (January 31, 2016). "California sheriff 'concerned' by slow response to jail escape". Reuters . Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Inmate who escaped from Orange County jail sentenced to 20 years in prison". Orange County Register. 2022-07-08. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  11. ↑ "Last remaining OC jailbreak defendant accepts plea deal". Orange County Register. 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  12. 1 2 "This Inmate Filmed His Own Jailbreak and Turned It into a Short Film". Vice . July 27, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 Winton, Richard; Queally, James (February 1, 2016). "O.C. jail fugitives abducted cabdriver, argued over killing him, officials say". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Bac Duong in Custody, 2 Other Orange County Escaped Inmates Believed to Be in San Jose". ABC 7 Bay Area. January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.