Three of six jail inmates who escaped jail back in custody

MERCED (AP) — Two inmates — including one facing a murder charge — who escaped with four others from a jail in central California over the weekend were arrested near the border with Mexico hours after another escapee was nabbed west of Fresno, authorities said Wednesday.

Fabian Cruz Roman, 22, and Andres Nunez Rodriguez, 21, were captured Tuesday south of San Diego, said Deputy Daryl Allen, a spokesman with the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.

Cruz Roman, of Los Banos, was in jail on a murder charge. Nunez Rodriguez, of Planada, California, was charged with attempted murder, participation in a criminal street gang and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Earlier on Tuesday, authorities arrested Edgar Eduardo Ventura, 22, of Portland, Oregon, in the Firebaugh area, about 40 miles west of Fresno, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

Ventura was in jail on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, participation in a criminal street gang and a probation violation.

Allen said he didn’t know if any of three inmates had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

The six inmates who are allegedly gang members gained access Saturday to the jail’s roof and used a makeshift rope to scale down the side of the Merced County Downtown Jail and escaped, officials said.

The remaining fugitives were identified as Jorge Barron, 20, of Atwater; Gabriel Francis Coronado, 19, of Atwater and Manuel Allen Leon, 21, of Vallejo. They have been charges with crimes ranging from probation violations and attempted murder, the sheriff’s office said.

They should be considered armed and dangerous, officials said, and anyone who spots them is asked not to approach them and immediately call 911.

Authorities have set up a tip line with the US Marshals Service and is offering a $5,000 reward for each fugitive.