Prisoner Who Fled From Canyon 2 Fire Found

ANAHEIM, CA — A prisoner who walked away from an inmate firefighting crew that was helping to battle the Canyon Fire 2 near Peters Canyon Regional Park in Orange on Oct. 15 was back in custody Wednesday, authorities said.

The prisoner, 31-year-old Armando Castillo, was taken into custody Tuesday night in the San Fernando Valley, according to Krissi Khokhobashvili of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Castillo was part of the inmate crews fighting the fire, and last had been seen before the crews returned to Prado Conservation Camp in San Bernardino County.

CDCR personnel found Castillo about 11:40 p.m. Tuesday at a motel and transported him to the California Institution for Men in Chino.

Daisy Castro, who was with Castillo at the motel, was arrested on suspicion of assisting him in his escape, Khokhobashvili said.

Castillo was serving a five-year sentence in a Yucaipa conservation camp for possession of a firearm and evading police while driving recklessly.He was convicted in Los Angeles County and was sent to prison on Aug. 23 of last year, was due to be released and placed on probation next May, according to Khokhobashvili.

Inmates like Castillo earn $1 an hour for fighting fires and get two days for credit for time served for each day they battle a blaze. It is unclear as to what this will do, if anything, to extend his current sentence.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Photo, Courtesy, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Armando Castillo