As Many As 5 Arrests Made In Connection With Jailbreak In Santa Ana
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — Authorities say five arrests have been made in connection with a recent jailbreak at a maximum-security jail in Southern California.
Sandra Hutchens, the Orange County sheriff, said the arrestees have some connection to the inmates who escaped and remain at large.
They were described by officials as being associated with two of the three escapees. Hutchens said more people were expected to be taken into custody Wednesday night and into Thursday.
It remains unclear what the suspects were being accused of and what role, if any, they were alleged to have played in the jailbreak.
The arrests were announced at an afternoon briefing.
The three escapees include 20-year-old Jonathan Tieu; Hossein Nayeri, 37; and 43-year-old Bac Duong, authorities said.
They have been missing for six days despite a reward that has climbed to $200,000.
Sheriff Hutchens told reporters that she believes Nayeri, who is suspected of torture and kidnapping, was the mastermind, planning for weeks or possibly months how to cut through steel and mental bars.
"Well, you know, it's every Sheriff's nightmare. You never want to have an escape from any jail. They do happen. You certainly don't want maximum-security prisoners, who are a danger to the public, to get out of your jail," she said.
The trio was last seen around 5 a.m. Friday at the Orange County Central Men's Jail in Santa Ana.
"We're looking into the escape itself and how that occurred and whether there was any outside or inside help. We certainly believe at this point that there was outside help while we continue to look at the possibility that there was some inside help as well," Hutchens said.
Hutchens said they hadn't had an escape at the jail built in the 1960s for decades.
No one has been relieved of duty on Hutchens' staff as a result of the escape, the Sheriff told CBS Los Angeles.
