LOS ANGELES (AP) – The investigation of a daring California jail break has led to the arrests of five people, with more expected soon, but the three inmates who escaped remain at large, the Orange County sheriff said Wednesday.
Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said she definitely believes the inmates had assistance from the outside, and that the investigation is focusing on a local Vietnamese gang.
“They had to have had help,” Hutchens said.
Those in custody – none of whom are jail employees or insiders – may not all have had direct ties to the escape, but the investigation of the breakout led to their arrest, sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Jeff Hallock said.
Hutchens would only say they had “some connection” to the inmates, adding that providing more information might tip off the inmates to details of the search. The department is still investigating whether the men had help on the inside, she said.