Eduardo Hernandez, who vanished from a prison camp in California in November 2011, has been arrested in New York City. The inmate, who was serving a 13-year sentence for carjacking, will be extradited back to California and could face escape charges.
Eduardo Hernandez, an inmate who vanished from a prison camp in California nearly 13 years ago, has been arrested in New York City, corrections officials say.
Hernandez, who disappeared from the Delta Conservation Camp in Suisun City in November 2011, was taken into custody without incident on May 20 in New York, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
Escaped California Inmate Captured in New York City After 13 Years
"Hernandez was sentenced to thirteen years for carjacking with an enhancement for use of a firearm," it said in a recent statement announcing his arrest, adding that Hernandez will be extradited back to California and could face escape charges.
"Since 1977, 99 percent of all people who have left an adult institution, camp, or community-based program without permission have been apprehended," the CDCR added.
Escaped California Inmate Captured in New York City After 13 Years
During Hernandez's escape in 2011, he fled with another inmate – Jose Padilla – who remains on the run, according to the Los Angeles Times. The newspaper reports that both men had last been seen early in the morning of Nov. 15, 2011 and escaped while wearing orange jeans and shirts with the label "C.D.C.R. prisoner" on them.
The CDCR says on its website that the "primary mission" of the Delta Conservation Camp in California’s Bay Area is to "provide incarcerated fire crews for fire suppression in the Sonoma, Lake, Napa Unit and Solano County areas."
Escaped California Inmate Captured in New York City After 13 Years
Hernandez’s capture comes after another inmate was detained following his escape from the camp in mid-May. James Xiong, who most recently had been sentenced to "one-year, four months for possessing/owning a firearm by a felon or addict," fled from the Delta Conservation Camp on May 13, the CDCR says.
He was then tracked down in Monterey around two weeks later, where "officers were required to use physical force and a taser to take him into custody," the CDCR added.
Escaped California Inmate Captured in New York City After 13 Years
In a separate incident, two escaped Louisiana inmates were found hiding in a dumpster behind a Dollar General store. John Paul Martin and Tyree Joseph Jones were both serving time for murder when they escaped from the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, on May 27.
The inmates were apprehended by deputies with the Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office, who were responding to a report of suspicious activity behind the store.
The CDCR and other law enforcement agencies across the country continue to work to apprehend escaped inmates and bring them back to custody.
