Remaining California Jail Escapees Captured in Bay Area

By Paige Austin and Feroze Dhanoa

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The two remaining prisoners, part of a dangerous trio who escaped from a California jail, believed to be in the San Jose and Fresno areas were taken into custody Saturday, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Hossein Nayeri, 37, of Newport Beach, and Jonathan Tieu, 20, of Fountain Valley were both taken into custody Saturday by San Francisco Police.

The third escapee, Bac Duong, 43, of Santa Ana, turned himself in to police on Friday.

“This morning I can say that the entire state of California can breathe a sigh of relief,” Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said at a press conference shortly after noon.

Nayeri and Tieu were taken into custody in San Francisco after a citizen alerted police to a white van in a Whole Foods parking lot in the city’s Haight area around 8:50 a.m. At the time, officers were responding to an unrelated medical call.

When officers approached the van, they found Nayeri inside who fled the area. A brief foot pursuit ensued after which Nayeri was taken into custody. Officers then returned to the van and found Tiu hiding inside. Hutchens said the white van is the same one that had been stolen from Los Angeles that authorities believed the escapees were driving and possibly living out of.

A preliminary investigation found 380 rounds of ammunition in the van but no weapon.

Hutchens, praised the person who spotted the van. The bystander turned out to be a man, but at a noon press conference Hutchens mistakenly identified the citizen as a woman, hinting she deserves a portion of the $200,000 reward offered for information leading to the capture of the suspects.

“That’s not for me to decide, but I certainly think she deserves it,” Hutchens said. “She told the officers, ‘it looks like the van I’ve been seeing on the news.’”

Both suspects are at the San Francisco police Park District Station. Orange County investigators are currently in San Francisco to interview both suspects to find out who helped them before they will be transported back to jail in Orange County.

“If anybody else aided and abetted them, they’re going to be prosecuted,” Hutchens added.

Hutchens said she does not believe their transport will take too long. Once back in Orange County, the escapees will get special handling.

“Because they are escapers, they will be housed in a different area in a different manner just like we would anybody who has ever escaped from any jail,” said Hutchens.

Hutchens said the focus now shifts to looking at where the system failed stressing that authorities did not want another escape from an Orange County jail.

The arrests followed a statewide manhunt that left left many on edge as all three inmates were considered armed and dangerous. Police believe Nayeri, who was awaiting trial on charges of kidnapping and torture, was the mastermind behind the escape plot.

Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Heather Brown, who is one of the prosecutors handling the 2012 kidnapping and torture case against Nayeri, told the Orange County Register that the defendant is “diabolical.”

“My first reaction was: Oh, my God, they let Hannibal Lecter out,” Brown said earlier this week. “He is sophisticated, incredibly violent and cunning.”

Brown joined a chorus of voices in and out of the law enforcement community, criticizing the sheriff’s department for allowing three extremely dangerous inmates to escape. This week, the officer’s union issued a statement blaming the department leadership for ignoring deputies’ request for updated technology and procedures before the escapes.

At a press conference Saturday, Hutchens acknowledged the need to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.

“We have been looking at the causes of escape from day one,” she said. ’Now the focus shifts to continuing to look at where the system failed us, where policies or procedures were not followed or should have been tighter. So, that will take some time, but believe me, we will be looking top to bottom on that.”

On Friday night, the search intensified in the Bay Area after the three inmates were confirmed to have been in San Jose. Authorities warned that the hunt had taken on an urgent edge.

“I think the longer they’re out of custody, the more desperate they become, and that makes them more dangerous,” Orange County Sheriff Department Lt. Jeff Hallock said Friday.

Friday morning, a smiling Duong, turned himself in peacefully. He flagged down a family friend, saying he wanted to turn himself in. Santa Ana Police took him into custody not far from the jail.

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.

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.

Return to Patch for updates on this breaking news story.

Pictured Left: Hossein Nayeri

Pictured Right: Jonathan Tieu

City News Service contributed to this report.