SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) – The first major break in the hunt for three dangerous jail inmates came exactly a week after their escape, when one of them walked up to a Southern California auto shop where a friend works, had her call police and stood and smoked a cigarette until he was arrested.
He then told investigators that a day earlier he had been in Northern California with the other two inmates before breaking off to turn himself in, setting off a statewide search, authorities said.
Bac Duong, 43, is in custody and cooperating with authorities, Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Jeff Hallock said Friday. His two former companions, 20-year-old Jonathan Tieu and 37-year-old Hossein Nayeri, are believed to be in San Jose and driving a van that the men stole a day after their escape. They may be on their way to Fresno, Hallock said.
“If they are watching, we want them to understand that we are pressing forward, and we are coming after them,” Hallock said at a news conference, addressing the escapees directly for the first time. “We will take you back into custody.”
Duong was taken into custody in Santa Ana, where the trio made their brazen escape on Jan. 22 from the maximum security facility, authorities said.