Sonoma County Jail inmate still on the run

A Sonoma County Jail inmate who ran from a work crew job Monday morning remained missing Tuesday - he’s the second minimum-security inmate in a week to take advantage of being out of jail on work duty and disappear.

Last week an inmate working in Cloverdale on a graffiti removal detail ran from a gas station when he and his driver briefly stopped. He was quickly caught and back in custody, according to sheriff’s reports.

Work crews are opportunities offered by at the Sonoma County Jail for some minimum security inmates. The inmates often are used for jobs such as litter patrol and other community service labors.

On Monday at about 7:50 a.m. Michael Brandon Gentuso, 38, had been riding in a van transporting inmates to a job when he jumped out on Steele Lane near Cleveland Avenue and took off running.

He ditched his jail denim jacket and bright safety vest, which were found. He was wearing blue denim jail clothing, marked by “NCDF” stenciled in large letters onto the back of the shirt, for “North County Detention Facility.”

Gentuso eluded a search. He remained at large Tuesday, sheriff’s Sgt. Cecile Focha said.

He’d been in custody since Dec. 23 when he was arrested on a drug possession charge. Gentuso, believed to be a Santa Rosa area transient, was convicted on Jan. 7. He was serving a 90-day sentence with a release date of April 3, Focha said.

Escaping from a work crew is a felony.

The name of last week’s inmate who tried to escape wasn’t immediately available Tuesday. He also apparently had little time left on his sentence.

Focha asked anyone with information about Gentuso to contact deputies or local law enforcement.