A pair of dangerous inmates with reported gang ties escaped from a jail in Monterey County on Sunday morning, and they have not been found.
Santos Samuel Fonseca, 21, and Jonathan Salazar, 20, were both in custody at the Monterey County Adult Detention Facility in Salinas when they managed to bust out and evade capture, as the New York Times reports. Details about how they pulled off the escape have not been revealed, and the Monterey County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post that "an investigation is underway."
Fonseca and Salazar are both 5-feet-7-inches tall, with Fonseca weighing 150 pounds and Salazar weighing 170 pounds. Both are described as Hispanic with dark brown hair. The Sheriff's Office post warns the public not to approach the men and just to call 911 if they're spotted.
As the Times reports, both men were awaiting trial for murder. Fonseca is facing two counts of murder in the June 2018 killings of 37-year-old Lorenzo Gomez Acosta and 27-year-old Ernesto Garcia Cruz, both in Salinas. The shootings were alleged to be a show of loyalty by Fonseca to "the Boronda gang," as the Californian previously reported. Salazar is charged with the October 2017 murder of 20-year-old Jaime Martinez, also in Salinas, in what authorities said was a gang-related hit.
Anyone with information about the pair's whereabouts is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 831-755-3722, and tips can also be submitted to the We Tip line by calling (888) 833-4847. There is now a $5,000 cash reward for information leading to the two men's capture.
