Calaveras Sheriff’s Office captures escaped inmate after nearly 2 weeks
An inmate who escaped from Calaveras County Jail nearly two weeks ago was re-arrested Tuesday night in Valley Springs with the help of thermal imaging from a Stanislaus County Sheriff’s helicopter.
The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office announced in a news release Wednesday morning that it had recaptured Larry Albert Mcdonald Jr., 41, of San Andreas, who had been on the lam since breaking out of the lockup in San Andreas on Feb. 2.
Mcdonald was arrested at 7:07 p.m. Tuesday after a pursuit that began about four hours earlier when he reportedly fled from a trailer into a wooded area as a team consisting of Calaveras County Sheriff ’s deputies, probation officers and members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force were searching for him on the 400 block of Highway 26.
According to the release, the team established a perimeter to contain Mcdonald after he fled and requested air support from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office to help with the search.
The release stated that the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office sent a helicopter equipped with thermal imaging, which uses infrared radiation and thermal energy to produce images of objects even in low-visibility environments.
At 6:27 p.m., the helicopter advised it had located a possible heat signature of the suspect and directed personnel on the ground as they safely collapsed the perimeter.
Mcdonald reportedly again attempted to evade capture, but personnel on the ground continued to receive updates on his location from the helicopter and were able to take him back into custody without further incident.
The Calaveras County Sheriff ’s Office issued a “public alert” about the foot pursuit on its Facebook page at 3:38 p.m. Tuesday and asked people to stay away from the area, but it did not explicitly state that Mcdonald was the suspect being pursued.
At 7:14 p.m. Tuesday, the agency stated that the public alert had been lifted and additional information about the incident “will be posted soon.” The news release about Mcdonald’s arrest was posted about 10:10 a.m. Wednesday.
Mcdonald’s escape was publicly announced by the Sheriff ’s Office in a news release posted on Facebook about 9 p.m. Feb. 2, more than two hours after it reportedly happened at 6:38 p.m. that same night.
The Feb. 2 release stated that Mcdonald broke out while performing super
vised work duties as an inmate worker. He was taking out the trash when he sprinted toward a rear fence, climbed over the razor wire and fled on foot into a field, the agency said at the time.
In the Feb. 2 release, the charges Mcdonald was in jail for were cited as a felony charge of possessing a dangerous weapon, a dagger, and misdemeanor charges of disobeying a court order and possessing drug paraphernalia, though it did not say whether he had already been convicted or was awaiting trial.
Sheriff’s records show that Mcdonald, whose last address was listed as being on the 100 block of Main Street in San Andreas, was booked back into jail Tuesday on suspicion of a new felony charge of escaping from a jail or prison.
Mcdonald was additionally booked on charges from Sept. 20 after an arrest at the Creekside Apartments in San Andreas on suspicion of unlawful possession of firearm as a felon or addict, unlawful possession of ammunition, altering or removing identification marks on a firearm, and felony warrants for unlawful possession of firearm, aggravated assault with a firearm on a person, and lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old, none of which were included in the Feb. 2 news release.
The Sheriff’s Office stated in the news release on Wednesday that the felony warrants were issued by San Joaquin County Superior Court.
Union Democrat records show that Mcdonald was previously arrested Sept. 16 at Church Hill Road and East St. Charles Street in San Andreas and booked into Calaveras County Jail on suspicion of carrying a concealed dirk or dagger, as well as misdemeanor charges of possession of unlawful paraphernalia, contempt of court and resisting arrest.
Mcdonald was then arrested again Sept. 20 on the 100 block of Main Street in San Andreas and booked into the jail that time on suspicion of being a felon or addict in possession of a firearm, being a prohibited person in possession of ammunition, removing or altering a serial number on a tear gas weapon, grand theft of a firearm, and misdemeanor charges of receiving known stolen property, possession of unlawful paraphernalia, contempt of court, and possession of burglary tools, according to this newspaper’s records.
The new charges against Mcdonald since his alleged escape do not allow for bail.