Robber who escaped L.A. County reentry program facility is captured in Vegas
A convicted robber who was at least the ninth person to escape a reentry program facility for California state prisoners this year has been captured in Las Vegas.
Dijon Barber was found almost two weeks after walking away from a Los Angeles County Male Community Reentry Program on April 12, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Barber had been serving a four-year sentence for robbery, theft/embezzlement from an elder or dependent adult and grand theft at a county reentry program facility.
A day before Barber escaped, Deshon Daniels was apprehended in Los Angeles after having left a reentry program.
The CDCR, which oversees the prison program, could not be reached Saturday for comment. Thousands have gone through the 10-year-old program, and it's part of a broader push by the state to go beyond punishment and rehabilitate incarcerated people and reduce recidivism.
Read more: L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. can't get inmates to court on time, angering judges, delaying justice
Most of those who escaped since January have been tracked down.
On Friday, prison officials announced Barber was apprehended by the North Las Vegas Criminal Apprehension Team.
There were no further details about how Barber wound up more than 250 miles away or what he was doing in Sin City, but officials said he was "taken into custody without incident."
To be considered for the reentry programs, individuals must have no more than 32 months — and no fewer than 60 days — before their earliest release date. There are three facilities housing these programs in L.A. County and there are others in Fresno, Butte, Kern and San Diego counties. The state has plans to expand the program so it serves every county by this summer.
Read more: 'Surge' of violence prompts crackdown in California prison system, officials say
"The goal of the program is to help participants successfully re-enter the community from incarceration, as well as contributing to reduced recidivism," the CDCR states on its website.
Barber was booked into a Nevada county jail and will be sent back to California, where officials said he would be placed in a CDCR institution. His case is being referred to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office for consideration of escape charges, the CDCR said.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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