By Ian James
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — An inmate who walked away from an L.A. County firefighting camp was recaptured hours later, the second such incident in California in the last week, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Monday.
The 33-year-old inmate, Angel Gaxiola, was discovered missing by the staff during a head count at Holton Conservation Camp, which is in the mountains northeast of Sylmar, about 9 p.m. Sunday, the department said.
A call went out to local law enforcement, and about 8 a.m. Monday, Upland police apprehended Gaxiola, the department said. Prison officials did not say where Gaxiola was arrested, but Sylmar is about 50 miles from Upland.
Gaxiola, who was serving a six-year sentence for robbery, had been at Holton Conservation Camp since January.
The fire camp is jointly operated by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and state prison officials and is staffed by county firefighters and corrections personnel who supervise incarcerated fire crews.
The crews at Holton clear brush and establish fire lines during wildland fires, the state said. Crews also perform park maintenance and brush clearance for fire prevention at well-known L.A. landmarks, including the Hollywood Bowl, Mt. Wilson and the trails of Angeles National Forest , the state said.
The department said Gaxiola’s case was referred to the Los Angeles County district attorney “for consideration of escape charges.”
His recapture occurred two days after authorities apprehended another inmate who walked away from a firefighting camp in El Dorado County in Northern California.
Dion Harvey, 24, was similarly discovered missing from his bunk during a camp count Friday night at Growlersburg Conservation Camp, the corrections department said. A search followed, and he was captured Saturday morning.
The California Department of Corrections, which has reported other similar cases in recent months, said in a statement on its website that since 1977, “99 percent of all people who have left an adult institution, camp, or in-state contract bed or Community Rehabilitative Program Placement have been apprehended.”
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