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[h=4]5 arrests in hunt for California escapees; inmates still at large[/h]Reward increased to $200,000 for information leading to the arrest of three inmates who escaped a Southern California jail, dramatically upping the ante for the manhunt.
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Authorities believe at least two of the three men who escaped from an Orange County jail are still in the region. The area has a large number of Vietnamese-Americans and officials believe two of the men may be "embedded" in the community. (Jan. 25) AP
The reward for information leading to the arrest of the the three escaped inmates from the Orange County Central Men's Jail. Hossein Nayeri, Jonathan Tieu and Bac Duong are believed to be dangerous and all were awaiting trial for separate violent felonies, authorities said.(Photo: Paul Rodriguez, The Orange County Register via AP)
Five people have been arrested in the hunt for three inmates who escaped a Southern California jail, the Orange County said, although the three escapees are still on the loose.
Sheriff Sandra Hutchens did not offer details on the people arrested, the Associated Press reported,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>only saying they had "some connection" to the escaped inmates. Hutchens said more arrests in were expected later Wednesday evening.
The<span style="color: Red;">*</span>reward for information leading to the arrests of the escapees<span style="color: Red;">*</span>rose to $200,000,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>dramatically<span style="color: Red;">*</span>upping the ante in a manhunt that has shown little progress<span style="color: Red;">*</span>since the spectacular escape five days ago.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday night approved $50,000 rewards each for Hossein<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Nayeri, 37, Bac Duong, 43, and Jonathan Tieu, 20. That comes on top of the $50,000 that federal authorities previously announced for their capture.
Hutchens said investigators believe Nayeri was the mastermind of the escape, and that they likely had outside help.
The manhunt has focused on the county's large Vietnamese population. Orange County sheriff's Lt. Dave Sawyer says<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Duong and Tieu have links to violent Vietnamese gangs and could be "embedded" in the community.
"It's unfortunate that, for the people law enforcement are dealing with<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to try and apprehend these individuals,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>money talks," said Todd Spitzer, chairman of the supervisors.
The men were last seen Friday during an early morning head count at<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Orange County Central Men's Jail in Santa Ana. An evening head count was delayed by a fight authorities now say may have been an intentional diversion, sheriff's official said. When the head count was finally taken, the men had vanished.
An investigation quickly determined the men cut through steel bars and into the jail's duct work, using it to climb to the roof. They then cut through a section of razor wire and, rapelling down makeshift rope made of bedsheets, slipped away to freedom.
Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock said security changes were immediately made at the prison.
"The preliminary investigation into the escape and how it occurred has caused the sheriff concern," Hallock said. Inmate count<span style="color: Red;">*</span>practices were among issues being reviewed, he added.
All three men were awaiting trial for violent crimes.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Nayeri had been held without bond since September 2014,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>charged with kidnapping, torture, aggravated mayhem and burglary. Nayeri and two<span style="color: Red;">*</span>other men are accused of kidnapping a California marijuana dispensary owner in 2012, driving him to a spot in the desert where they believed he had hidden money and then<span style="color: Red;">*</span>torturing<span style="color: Red;">*</span>him.
Deputy District Attorney Heather Brown told the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The Orange County Register<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that Nayeri was a likely candidate to have planned the escape. She described him as diabolical and compared him to legendary<span style="color: Red;">*</span>film villain<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Hannibal Lecter.
Orange County Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Lt. Jeff Hallock, left, comments on a $200,000 reward offered for information leading to the arrest of three fugitives in Santa Ana, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. Three inmates, including a man suspected of a killing, cut through metal, crawled through plumbing tunnels, climbed a roof and rappelled down four stories to freedom last week using ropes made from bedsheets.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Nick Ut, AP)
Salvatore Ciulla, Nayeri's lawyer, told Los Angeles ABC7-TV that authorities, and thus the media, have essentially convicted Nayeri before his trial, which had been scheduled for next month.
"I would just like to see him turn himself in, and we could move forward with this case," he told the station.
Duong<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was being held without bond since last month on charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, shooting at an inhabited dwelling, being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm and other charges.
Tieu had been held since October 2013 on $1 million bond on charges of murder, attempted murder and shooting<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at an inhabited dwelling. His case is believed to be gang-related.
Contributing: The Associated Press<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
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