2 outstanding OC inmates taken into custody in San Francisco
SANTA ANA, Calif. -- The two remaining inmates who had escaped the Orange County Central Men's Jail on Jan. 22 were taken into custody in San Francisco Saturday morning.
Hossein Nayeri, 37, and Jonathan Tieu, 20, were arrested by the San Francisco Police Department shortly before 9 a.m. near Golden Gate Park.
A male citizen flagged down officers about a suspicious person and car in the parking lot of a Whole Foods, authorities said. He informed the officers the vehicle matched the description of a stolen white utility van associated with the fugitives, as well as an individual possibly matching a description of one of the escapees.
San Francisco police had initially reported the citizen as a woman, but said the person was a man during an afternoon press conference.
Officers located the possible suspect at Waller and Stanyan Streets, where a foot pursuit ensued around Kezar Stadium and the Park District Police Station. The suspect, later identified as Nayeri, was apprehended shortly after.
The suspicious van was then located at Haight and Stanyan streets, where officers discovered Tieu hiding inside. They were able to apprehend him and transported both escapees to Park Station for further investigation.
Authorities found .380 ACP ammunition rounds inside of the van, but did not say how many were found. A weapon was not recovered. San Francisco police said they were still searching for a possible weapon.
Nayeri and Tieu will be transferred to the San Francisco County Jail where Orange County deputies will meet to interview them. Authorities will coordinate when the inmates can be transferred back to the Orange County jail.
Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said the inmates will be housed in a different area of the jail. She added that an investigation into how the jail failed to prevent an escape is ongoing.
Bac Duong, 43, was the third inmate who had escaped with Nayeri and Tieu from the jail. He surrendered to the Orange County Sheriff's Department Friday afternoon after flagging down a citizen in Santa Ana.
Authorities believed Nayeri and Tieu were in the San Jose area and were heading to Fresno because of a family connection Nayeri had.
On Jan. 22, the trio fled the jail in an elaborate escape plan that involved cutting through steel bars and plumbing tunnels and then rappelling down the building from the jail's roof. They had been accounted for around 5 a.m. that day and it wasn't until 16 hours later that authorities noticed their disappearance.
Capt. Jeff Hallock said during a press conference earlier in the week that Duong stole a van sold by a private owner the day after the escape. Investigators believed the three men were living in the van and using it to travel through the state.
On Thursday, authorities arrested Nooshafarin Ravaghi, a 44-year-old English as a Second Language teacher who had taught at the jail since July 2015. She developed a close relationship with Nayeri and the sheriff's department said she provided key materials that aided in the escape.
She faces charges of being an accessory to a felony and is ineligible for bail. Ravaghi is scheduled to be arraigned in court on Monday.
The three men faced a slew of charges all involving violent crimes. Nayeri, who authorities referred to as the fictional cannibal killer Hannibal Lecter, faced charges for kidnapping, torture and severing a man's penis. Tieu faced charges for murder and Duong for attempted murder.
ABC7 sister station, KGO-TV, contributed to this report.
