Escapee to spend 49 years in state prison
Captured fugitive received 16 more months to his sentence in no contest plea
SAN JOSE — One of two men who broke out of the Santa Clara County Main Jail the night before Thanksgiving has pleaded no contest in connection with the escape, authorities said.
LaRon Campbell, 26, of Palo Alto, entered the plea in a San Jose courtroom Friday, where he was sentenced to more than 47 years in prison for a home-invasion robbery and attempted residential burglary. His plea in the jail escape tacked on 16 months, and because the sentences were issued consecutively, he is slated to spend 49 years in state prison.
“I was very pleased we were able to wrap up all the cases today,” Deputy District Attorney Anne Seery said. “He is being held accountable for his actions. I commend the work of the many officers who worked to bring him in.”
Campbell and fellow inmate Rogelio Chavez were being held in the south wing of the Main Jail the night of Nov. 23 when they cut through their second-story window bars — apparently with some kind of wire — and rappelled to the ground outside with a rope made up of bed sheets and clothing.
Two other inmates who followed them were quickly caught at the maximum-security facility on West Hedding Street. Campbell and Chavez, a 33-year-old San Jose man, apparently parted ways not long after, with Chavez being tracked to locations in Gilroy and East San Jose, but initially eluding capture.
Any motive for the breakout at least partly had to do with the fact that they each faced up to
30 to 40 years in prison for the crimes for which they were being held. Chavez was booked in August on charges that include kidnapping, burglary, extortion, false imprisonment, resisting arrest and firearms violations. Campbell had been in jail since February 2015 on charges that include robbery, false imprisonment, criminal threats and firearms violations.
Campbell was found at his sister’s home in Antioch the night of Nov. 29, after he crashed through the ceiling while hiding in the attic, almost literally landing in the custody of arriving law enforcement. His sister was arrested on suspicion of aiding him while he was on the lam.
Chavez was arrested Nov. 30 after an eight-hour standoff with police at a South San Jose home. A resident of that home and a woman detained earlier at a Gilroy motel where Chavez had stayed were both arrested on suspicion of helping a fugitive. He eluded capture despite having a facial tattoo bisecting his left eye, likely with the help of concealer makeup. Chavez’s case was continued to January.