Escaped Inmate Hides in Attic, Falls Through Ceiling

Fellow escapee arrested after 7-hour standoff
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 1, 2016 3:48 AM CST
Fugitive Inmate Arrested After 7-Hour Standoff
This undated photo provided by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office shows Laron Campbell.   (Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office)

A fugitive inmate who escaped last week from a county jail in California by rappelling down with a bedsheet was re-arrested Wednesday night after a seven-hour standoff with police. Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith says Rogelio Chavez was taken into custody at the house of an associate in San Jose, the AP reports. Video of the scene showed a man in handcuffs being led out of the house by at least six officers. Detectives were trying to search the home of Karla Fernandez when they noticed someone was hiding in the attic and requested backup from the SWAT team, Smith said. A SWAT team shot tear gas canisters into the home at least twice during the standoff. Authorities say Chavez was taken to a hospital because he was suspected of being under the influence of crack cocaine and marijuana.

Fernandez, who's on probation, was also arrested and is facing charges of resisting and obstructing an investigation, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and being an accessory to an escaped inmate. The other fugitive, 26-year-old Laron Campbell, was arrested at his sister's home in Antioch late Tuesday. He was tracked to the home on Monday, and authorities with the US Marshals Service and Antioch Police launched a stakeout. Campbell fled into the home's attic when authorities burst into the house Tuesday night, police say. But he came crashing down through the flimsy ceiling shortly after and was taken into custody without further incident. The sister, 24-year-old Marcaysha Alexander, was arrested on suspicion of harboring a fugitive. (More prison break stories.)

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