Convict Captured Nearly 13 Years After Escape, Law Enforcement Says

(USNewsBreak.com) – When convicts receive jail or prison sentences, the facilities do everything they can to keep inmates contained. However, stories abound of someone breaking out and going on the run. Most of the time, authorities quickly recapture these criminals. Still, in some cases, escapees go missing for years. Authorities recently recaptured one man who reportedly escaped in 2011, nearly 13 years later.

Eduardo Hernandez was in a California detention center in Suisun City when he allegedly walked away on November 15, 2011. He was serving time for a carjacking with an enhancement for the use of a gun during the crime, according to a press release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Authorities finally caught up with Hernandez in late May all the way across the country in New York City. Police took him into custody without incident, and California plans to extradite him back to the state, per the press release. New York will doubtless return Hernandez to California to serve the remainder of his sentence. He also faces the possibility of additional charges related to his escape.

Yet, there’s more to the story. When Hernandez escaped, he reportedly didn’t do so alone. Jose Padilla, another prisoner at the Delta Conservation Camp, which “provide[s] incarcerated fire crews for fire suppression in the Sonoma, Lake, Napa Unit, and Solano County areas,” is reported to have walked away at the same time. He remains on the lam, per the Los Angeles Times. It’s unclear whether authorities or Hernandez know his whereabouts.

In May of this year, another prisoner housed at the same detainment center escaped, according to another press release. James Xiong was on the run for two weeks before authorities returned him to custody, the CDCR stated. He had received a six-year sentence on a conviction for grand theft exceeding $950 and another year on a separate conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation noted that it had recaptured 99% of convicts “who have left an adult institution, camp, or community-based program without permission” in the past five decades.