Second inmate back in custody

An inmate who walked away from a community halfway house in South Los Angeles early this week was taken into custody Wednesday, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Jeffrey Scott Pine, 47, was apprehended at 6 p.m. in Downey by agents from the corrections department’s Special Service Unit, a 40person division that handles major criminal investigations and escaped prisoner cases statewide.

Pine was reported to have walked away from the Los Angeles County Male Community Reentry Program about 1:30 p.m. Monday. The escape was the second to occur at the halfway house in less than a week. Sarkis Akopyan, who walked away from the facility Aug. 12, was taken into custody the following day in Glendale.

Both inmates were apprehended without incident and transported to the California Institution for Men in Chino.

At least nine offenders have walked away from L.A. facilities this year. During that time, at least 12 other inmates have left conservation camps and reentry facilities throughout the state, according to news releases.

The corrections department has increased the number of reentry programs to help inmates transition back into their communities, spokeswoman Krissi Khokhobashvili said. The South Los Angeles facility opened in May.

“The walkaways are going to get more attention,” Khokhobashvili said, “but the vast majority of the people in these facilities are working hard to get home and trying not to make mistakes again.”

Pine was serving a threeyear sentence for false impersonation and was scheduled to be released on probation in October. The circumstances of his escape are still being investigated, but he could face additional jail time. “Look at how close he was to going home,” Khokhobashvili said. “That’s likely not going to happen anymore.”

The South L.A. reentry facility houses about 120 men and has limited security. Some inmates are allowed to come and go for work or school. Pine walked away from the facility Monday and removed his GPS tracking device, which sent an alert to authorities.

“Any time anyone walks away from one of our facilities, we don’t consider it ordinary,” Khokhobashvili said. “Each time, we look at how it happened, why it happened and if there’s anything that needs to be changed in terms of protocol or communication.”