A pair of inmates who escaped prison in Monterey County on Sunday clearly didn't have much of a plan for evading capture. While they appear to have succeeded in the cliche flight to Mexico, they were caught by authorities trying to cross back into the U.S. from Tijuana around midnight last night.
The two murder suspects, Santos Samuel Fonseca, 21, and Jonathan Salazar, 20, were arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after trying to cross back into the U.S. on foot at a border crossing last night — which leads to the question of what they were thinking in not just staying in Mexico, since they successfully made it there and evaded capture in the U.S. As ABC 7 reports, CBP officers naturally ran the two men's information — it's also unclear how they'd be carrying ID — and figured out that they were wanted, escaped felons. They have reportedly already returned to the custody of Monterey County authorities.
A Motel 6 near Salinas — where the escape occurred — was evacuated and locked down on Tuesday after a reported sighting of one of the escaped prisoners. It's also unclear whether that was a verified sighting — ABC 7 says "the inmate evaded capture," but did he or both men actually make it down to Mexico that quickly after being spotted?
The Monterey County Sheriff's tweet on Sunday has garnered plenty of lovely responses from Trump's America about these two being set free by our sanctuary state before they cold be nabbed by ICE, but by all accounts they were both born American citizens.
As we learned Tuesday via KTVU and others, Fonseca and Salazar escaped by digging a hole in a bathroom ceiling in a unit they shared with multiple other inmates, crawling past pipes and out of the building through a construction area where the secure perimeter was compromised.
Both men were awaiting trial on murder charges with gang enhancements for killings in Salinas. They will now face further charges related to the escape.
Previously: Two Inmates Charged With Murder Escape From Monterey County Jail