SAN FRANCISCO—On January 22, three men escaped from the Orange County Men’s Jail. According to police, the men cut a hole in a metal grate, crawled through plumbing tunnels, and scaled down the five-story jail building by propelling down linked bedsheets turned into rope.
The fugitives were identified as Hossein Nayeri, 37, Jonathan Tieu, 20, and Bac Duong, 43. Duong was reported to have surrendered to a civilian in Santa Ana on January 29. The two remaining suspects were still missing at the time of Duong’s arrest.
During a press conference on January 30, SFPD Officer Grace Gatpandan announced: “This morning, January 30, 2016, just before 9:00 a.m., a citizen flagged down an officer in the park district regarding a specific person and a suspicious vehicle.
The citizen informed them that the suspect’s vehicle and the suspicious suspect matched the description of the people wanted from the Orange County Men’s Jail. Officers located the suspects at Waller and Stanyan Streets where a foot pursuit ensued around Kezar Stadium as well as Park District station. The suspect was identified as Hossein Nayeri and he was apprehended shortly after without further incident. Officers went to investigate the van where they found Jonathan Tieu hiding inside, he was apprehended without incident and both inmates were transported to Park Station.”
The unidentified civilian who reported the suspect and van to the police told officers, “it looks like the van I’ve been seeing on the news.” The civilian could receive a $200,000 reward for reporting Nayeri to police. Officers reported finding ammunition in the vehicle, but no weapons. The van had been stolen by Duong while he took the van out on a test drive on January 23, a day after the men broke out of jail.
Nayeri has been in jail since September 2014 after being prosecuted on charges of kidnapping, torture, burglary, and aggravated mayhem. Tieu had been in jail since October 2013 for charges that include gang-related murder and drive-by shooting.
Officer Gatpandan reminded the public, “This is an excellent example of how the public can help SFPD keep the city safe. As citizens saw someone, saw something suspicious, notified an officer, and that notification ultimately led to the apprehension of two armed and dangerous suspects wanted who escaped from jail.”
