UPDATE |
A prisoner who walked away from a halfway house in Long Beach earlier this week was arrested by authorities in Montebello Saturday afternoon.
Reynaldo Campana, Jr., 37, was spotted standing near an intersection in that city by a Montebello police officer at about 3:05 p.m., the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a news release.
He was taken into custody without incident and transported to California Institution for Men in Chino. His case will be referred to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for consideration of escape charges, officials said.
PREVIOUSLY: Prisoner walks away from Long Beach halfway house while out on day pass, officials say
12/14/18 at 8:33 a.m. | By Jeremiah Dobruck
Authorities are searching for a prisoner who absconded from a halfway house in Long Beach after tampering with his GPS monitor, according to prison officials.
Reynaldo Campana, Jr., 37, had been serving out the end of his three-year sentence for vehicle theft and evading a peace officer at an inmate-reentry center in Long Beach, but on Thursday morning, he walked away while out on a day pass, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a news release.
Campana disappeared shortly before 9:41 a.m. His last known location was at 1455 S. Atlantic Blvd. in Commerce, authorities said. That address belongs to a donut shop.
“Notification was immediately made to local law enforcement agencies,” prison officials said. “Within minutes, agents from CDCR’s Office of Correctional Safety were dispatched to locate and apprehend Campana.”
Campana is 5-foot-6 and about 190 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, authorities said.
He was sent to prison in March and has been at the Long Beach reentry program since August, according to the CDCR.
Eligible prisoners can volunteer for a spot at a halfway house, called the Male Community Reentry Program, which gives them tools for transitioning back into society, the CDCR said. Prison officials said they’ve been able to recapture every inmate who has ever walked away from the program.
“Anyone who sees Campana or has any knowledge of his whereabouts should immediately contact law enforcement or call 911,” authorities said.