California officials catch prisoner who escaped with state van

The man was arrested without incident Friday about 200 miles away from the prison he escaped.|
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN LUIS OBISPO - California officials say they have apprehended a minimum-security inmate who escaped last month by stealing a state van parked at the prison garage where he worked.

The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says 26-year-old David Gray Hall drove away Oct. 30 from the California Men’s Colony prison in San Luis Obispo.

He was arrested without incident Friday about 200 miles away, in a park in the southwest area of Los Angeles. The prison’s white 1997 Ford Aerostar van was found nearby.

Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton says inmates have escaped using state vehicles before. Virtually all escapees are caught.

Hall was admitted from Los Angeles County in December 2015 to serve a five-year sentence for robbery.

Prison officials are referring the case to a prosecutor for possible charges.

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