San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Escaped San Quentin inmate arrested in Paso Robles
An inmate who escaped from San Quentin State Prison was arrested Saturday afternoon at a Taco Bell in Paso Robles, authorities said. Shalom Mendoza, 21, was taken into custody about 1 p.m. after a person saw him at the fast food restaurant and called corrections officials, said Sgt. Justin Graham, a spokesman for San Rafael police. He had been spotted Friday afternoon in San Miguel (San Luis Obispo County), buying clothes at a Dollar Store.
Authorities said Mendoza had ditched his getaway car near Paso Robles and may have been headed for Los Angeles.
He was taken to Salinas Valley State Prison. Corrections officials said his case will be presented to the Marin County district attorney’s office for consideration of escape and carjacking charges.
Mendoza slipped out of the prison sometime before 9:35 p.m. Wednesday, then went to a nearby home depot and stole a Toyota RAV4 from a female driver, according to a statement from the San Rafael Police Department.
“He was assigned to work outside the secured perimeter of the prison, as many inmates are, and he took advantage of an opportunity to leave,” said prison officials in a statement.
During the carjacking, Mendoza held what appeared to be a weapon under his T-shirt and threatened to shoot the victim if she did not hand over her car keys, according to police. Mendoza let the woman take her small dog before he fled in the vehicle. The victim was not physically harmed.
Roughly 15 minutes after officials believe Mendoza swiped the RAV4, surveillance footage shows the sport utility vehicle passing through the Bay Bridge toll plaza toward San Francisco, according to the San Rafael Police Department. Mendoza had been serving a five-year sentence for use of a weapon during a “carjacking/attempted carjacking” and “evading or attempting to evade a peace officer while driving recklessly.”
California Highway Patrol officers found the stolen RAV4 abandoned off the southbound shoulder of Highway 101 just north of Paso Robles around 5 p.m. Friday, police said. It was towed to the CHP Monterey office for processing.
Corrections officials did not immediately release additional information on the hours and days leading up to Mendoza’s arrest, but said that “as part of our ongoing investigation into this incident we will be gathering additional information.”
Officials were still searching Saturday for 27-year-old Justin Franks, a minimumsecurity inmate who escaped from Folsom State Prison north of Sacramento a week earlier. He was serving a sentence for a San Bernardino County burglary.