San Jose

1 of 2 Inmates Who Escaped From Calif. Jail Captured

One of the two inmates who broke out of jail in Santa Clara County, California, using bedsheets to rappel down to the ground the day before Thanksgiving was apprehended late Tuesday without incident in Antioch.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office confirmed that 26-year-old Laron Desean Campbell was captured. Sources told NBC News Campbell was arrested by U.S. Marshals.

Authorities continue to search for the other escaped inmate, 33-year-old Rogelio Chavez of San Jose. Earlier on Tuesday, sheriff's deputies swarmed an east San Jose neighborhood looking for one of the inmates, and over the weekend, they had stormed a Gilroy Days Inn, hoping to find Chavez.

Campbell will be booked into Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County and then will be transported back to the Santa Clara County Main Jail, sources said.

Cassidy Ahern said she witnessed Campbell's arrest: "I was on my balcony, I was hanging out with my friends and we saw all the lights out there and we went down to see what was going on.”

The sheriff's office has planned a news conference for late Wednesday morning at its headquarters to provide further details of Campbell's arrest.

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Campbell and Chavez made a daring escape from Santa Clara County Main Jail on Thanksgiving Eve, using bedsheets to rappel down their second-story jail cell window.

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Chavez stands about 6 feet tall, weighs 190 pounds and has the letter B tattooed on the left side of his neck. He also has a line tattooed over his left eye.

Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Rich Glennon said Chavez was held since Aug. 17 on various charges including burglary, extortion, false imprisonment, resisting arrest and firearms violations.

Ahern, who saw Campbell being taken into custody, said she wishes the whole ordeal would be over.

“It’s kind of scary," she said, "I mean, when you’re just sitting outside and you don’t expect that kind of thing to happen with all the officers and cop cars and it’s kind of nerve wracking.”

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