Latest: Three OC jail escapees still loose; Sheriff wants your help

Updated 5pm 1/24/16

3 inmates escape from California jail after cutting through steel bars

By Catherine E. Shoichet, Tim Hume and Chandler Friedman

CNN

A manhunt is underway for three inmates who cut through steel bars, made their way through plumbing tunnels and rappelled off a roof to break out of a maximum-security jail in California.

The group, which includes a man charged with murder, fled the prison on foot Friday, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock told reporters.

“This was clearly a well thought out and planned escape,” Hallock said. “It’s unknown, but it could have taken them weeks, or even months, to prepare.”

Citing anonymous sources, CNN affiliate KCAL reported that the men tied towels and bed sheets together to form a makeshift rope to rappel down from the roof and reach the street four stories below.

Officials released photos of the rope and other evidence from the escape investigation Sunday as they continued their search for the fugitives.

Now authorities say they’re offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the escaped prisoners.

“We’re following every lead that we receive. We’re in a position where we absolutely need the public’s help,” Hallock said.

They’re also trying to get to the bottom of how the inmates managed to escape, Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens told reporters Sunday.

“While our focus right now is to apprehend these individuals and get them back behind bars as quick as possible,” she said, “we are also beginning an investigation as to how this occurred and are working on that — but certainly not with the same number of resources as we are dealing with getting these individuals off the street.”

Jonathan Tieu, 20; Hossein Nayeri, 37; and Bac Tien Duong, 43, escaped from the Orange County Men’s Jail on Friday.

Tieu is accused of murder, Nayeri of torture and kidnapping while Duong faces charges of attempted murder.

Hutchens described the men as “very dangerous” and urged anyone with information to call 911.

Investigators have fanned out throughout southern California to search for the men, Hallock said.

The inmates were last seen inside the jail dormitory at 5 a.m. Friday but had gone missing by the time the next head count was done around 9 p.m., officials said.

They were housed in an area with about 60 other inmates, Hallock said, but at this point it’s unclear whether other prisoners saw the men escape.

Investigators believe they slipped out sometime shortly after the 5 a.m. head count, Hallock said.

They’re also looking into whether a disturbance at the jail before the second head count had anything to do with the escape, he said.

SANTA ANA (CNS) – Three escaped jail detainees were described as “very
dangerous,” and the public was warned to “presume they are armed” by the
Orange County sheriff today.
And the men had tools that had been smuggled into the main county jail
in Santa Ana, said Sheriff Sandra Hutchens at a morning news conference.
The men cut through three sets of bars on Friday, and went down three
floors of sheets, possibly after having organized a fracas inside to distract
jailers, deputies have said. But at a morning news conference, the sheriff said
a timeline detailing events Friday was still being prepared..
“They had some tools. Where they got those tools and how they got them,
we do not know that,” she said.
The FBI and U.S. Marshall’s Office today posted rewards totaling $50,000
for information leading to the capture of the three men, who were awaiting
trial on charges ranging from murder to attempted murder to torture.
Hossein Nayeri, 37, of Newport Beach, faced charges of kidnapping and
torture for the abduction of a marijuana clinic owner. The man was driven to
the desert and a blowtorch was alleged to have been used by Nayeri, deputies
said, to sever the man’s penis.
Nayeri fled the U.S. and was arrested in Prague, the Czech Republic,
then returned to Santa Ana to await trial.
Jonathan Tieu, 20, of Fountain Valley, faced a murder charge in
connection with a gang hit, prosecutors said.
And Bac Duong, 43, of Santa Ana, faced an attempted murder charge and
was being held without bail on an immigration hold, pending a possible federal
deportation hearing.
The inmates last were seen at a physical body count that took place 5
a.m. Friday at the Men’s Central Jail complex, but they were not discovered to
be missing until the day’s second and final body count at 9 p.m.
Routinely taking a census during the day is not possible because
detainees are out of the jail to be in court or on medical checks, Hutchens
said at a morning news conference today.
“We have had a number of very good tips that have got us on a good
path, but as for actual sightings of these individuals, we have not (had
any),” she said.
“We continue to have three escapees who are very dangerous and I want
to tell the public presume they are armed,” Hutchens said.
The men may have used a squabble inside the lockup as cover as the
evening body count approached at 8 p.m. Friday.
The men escaped from a dormitory-style “tank” housing about 60
inmates. The jail complex — which dates to the late 1960s and lacks some in-
house services that are features of more modern jails and prisons — consists
of three facilities housing about 900 inmates.
The entire complex is maximum security. There have been two prior
escapes from the jail, both over 20 years ago.
The escapees cut through 1/2-inch steel bars and plumbing channels to
make their way to an unsecured portion of the jail’s roof before using a
makeshift cloth rope to rappel to the ground. They fled on foot.
It’s unclear whether they had any help from the outside or if other
inmates were involved in the escape, the sheriff repeated today.

SANTA ANA (CNS) – Authorities are searching today for three dangerous
prisoners who escaped the Orange County jail lockup.
“The Sheriff’s Department number one priority in this is the safety of
our community,” Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock said during a brief
news conference at the department’s headquarters at 550 N. Flower St. a little
after 9 a.m.
Inmates Hossein Nayeri of Newport Beach, 37, faced charges of kidnapping
and torture; Jonathan Tieu of Fountain Valley, 20, faced a murder charge; and
Bac Duong of Santa Ana, 43, faced a charge of attempted murder.
The inmates were last seen at 5 a.m. Friday at the Orange County Jail,
according to Carrie Braun of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Officials
did not discover the inmates were missing until about 9 p.m. Friday.
A search was conducted in the Central Jail Complex and Civic Center in
Santa Ana but they were not found, Hallock said. The three were believed to
have fled the area.
How they escaped has not yet been disclosed by authorities.
“We’re not ready to talk about how they escaped,” Braun said.
Anyone with information on their whereabouts was asked to call the
sheriff’s department at (714) 647-7000, (714) 647-7014 or 911. Tipsters can
also contact Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP-OCCS (847-6227). All
tips can be made anonymously.