Missing Lake County prison inmate back in custody, authorities say

The man walked away from a firefighter camp last week, authorities said.|
RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A missing Lake County prisoner is back in custody after walking away last week from a minimum-security inmate firefighter camp, state corrections officials said.

Nicolas Dunning, 32, was found Saturday in Coachella, a Southern California city near Palm Springs. Riverside County gang detectives arrested him after developing information he was in the area, officials said.

Dunning was stopped in a vehicle at 1:15 a.m. and taken to Calipatria State Prison in nearby Imperial County. He was serving a five-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon following his arrest in Imperial County.

Corrections officials sent him to the Konocti Conservation Camp in Lower Lake, where inmates are trained as wildland firefighters. Dunning, who last summer battled Northern California blazes, disappeared from the camp on New Year’s Eve morning, authorities said.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.
Send a letter to the editor