BREAKING: Southern California Jail Escapees Spotted in San Jose, Police Say

By PAUL ANDERSON

Three armed and dangerous jail escapees were spotted in the San Jose area this week, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department announced Friday.

One of the escaped inmates is believed to have returned to Southern California where he turned himself in Friday.

All three escaped inmates -- Hossein Nayeri, 37, of Newport Beach, Jonathan Tieu, 20, of Fountain Valley, and Bac Duong, 43, of Santa Ana -- were spotted in the San Jose area, likely using a white GMC van that was stolen from South Los Angeles last Saturday, said Orange County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Jeff Hallock. Duong apparently made it back to the Santa Ana area on his own, and he surrendered to authorities this morning.

Hallock says the white van may now have tinted windows.

Nayeri and Tieu, however, may be en route to Fresno. Hallock said “there may be some associations of one of the suspects (Nayeri) in the Fresno area.”

But for the time being, the search is focused on San Jose.

“I think the longer they’re out of custody, the more desperate they become, and that makes them more dangerous,” Hallock said

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens announced the capture of Duong today.

A smiling Duong, 43, turned himself in within the last hour, according to Hutchens. He flagged down a family friend earlier today saying he wanted to turn himself in. Santa Ana Police took him into custody not far from the jail.

“Approximately 25 minutes ago, Bac Duong contacted a civilian on the streets of Santa Ana and stated he wanted to turn himself in,” Hutchens said shortly after noon.

Doung is one of three inmates who escaped from Orange County Men’s Central Jail last week.

Police believe Duong, of Santa Ana, stole a white GMC Savana utility van in the South Los Angeles area on Saturday. The van remains at large, and police believe it could still lead them to the other two escaped inmates.

The van has paper license plates from Felix Chevrolet, with plate number 8U66466, although the plates may have been removed and replaced.

Still on the run are Hossein Nayeri, 37, of Newport Beach and Jonathan Tieu, 20, of Fountain Valley. Tieu, who faces murder charges is believed to be a member of the Asian gang Tiny Rascals. Nayeri, who is an experienced fugitive with some military training, is believed to be the mastermind behind the escape.

The three inmates disappeared from the jail early Jan. 22. They disappeared after a 5 a.m. body count in the jail, but they were not discovered missing until close to 9 p.m., when the second daily body count was conducted. Nayeri had been in custody since September 2014, Tieu since October 2013 and Duong since December.

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said Wednesday she suspects Nayeri was the “mastermind” of the breakout based on his military training in the U.S. Armed Forces.

On Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors quadrupled the reward for information that leads to the inmates’ recapture, boosting it to $200,000. The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service pledged the initial $50,000.

Nayeri is accused of participating in an attack, including torture, against a Newport Beach resident who ran a licensed marijuana dispensary in Santa Ana. Tieu faces murder and attempted murder charges in connection with a gang hit. Duong faces an attempted murder charge and was being held without bail on an immigration hold pending a possible federal deportation hearing.

Felony escape charges were filed Monday against the three inmates. Authorities warned they should be considered armed and extremely dangerous. Anyone who spots them should call 911.

The Sheriff’s Department also has a hotline in place at (714) 628-7085.

On Thursday, a 44-year-old Lake Forest woman who taught English classes at the jail was arrested for allegedly providing information to Nayeri, who was one of her jailhouse students.

Nooshafarin Ravaghi, who works for the Rancho Santiago Community College District, had been teaching English-as-a-second-language classes at the jail since July 2014, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Jeff Hallock, a department spokesman.

She is also an associate faculty member at Saddleback College, according to the Mission Viejo college’s website, and has her own website, The Noosha Collection, which can be found at noosharavaghi.com.

Ravaghi was booked on suspicion of being an accessory to a felony, Hallock said. She is tentatively expected to appear in court Monday. She is currently ineligible for bail, Hallock said, but authorities are expected to ask Monday that her bail be set at $500,000.

Hallock said Nayeri took her class at the jail and developed a relationship with Ravaghi, Hallock said.

“It is believed Ravaghi directly contributed to the escape of the three inmates and provided critical planning tools that aided in their preparation for the escape,” Hallock said.

The exact nature of her alleged assistance was still being investigated, but she is believed to have provided information such as Google Earth maps to Nayeri -- the alleged mastermind of the escape -- showing aerial views of the jail, an adjacent women’s jail and an intake center. Hallock said Ravaghi has denied providing Nayeri with any tools used in the escape.

Hallock said the extent of the relationship Nayeri developed with Ravaghi was still unclear. It’s also unclear if she knew Nayeri was plotting an escape.

“We don’t have any information to determine it (the relationship) was in fact romantic,” Hallock said. “It was much closer and much more personal than it should have been.”

Nayeri and Ravahi are both natives of Iran. Hallock said there is no information indicating the pair were acquainted before meeting in the jail class -- a class Nayeri was taking even though he already spoke English. Their ultimate relationship, however, “leads us to believe she played a significant role in the planning” of the escape, Hallock said.

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City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.