An inmate who escaped the Pima County Jail has been captured, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
Jose Fernandez escaped from the Mission Facility at approximately 4 p.m on Tuesday. He was discovered missing Wednesday morning at around 7 a.m.
On 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, PCSD said they detained Fernandez near Park Avenue and Valencia Road.
In his escape, Fernandez scaled a block wall and managed to break through the steel mesh that covered the exercise yard. This went unnoticed by corrections staff monitoring the inmates. He was last seen on foot, running down Mission Road.
PCSD says he was then located around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the vicinity of Valencia Road and Park Avenue.
Fernandez is a pretrial inmate who was booked into our jail on February 24, 2020. His charges include Aggravated Assault, Auto Theft, and Vandalism.
PCSD says Fernandez was inappropriately transferred to a lower security area of the facility and had not exhibited any questionable behaviors.
It appears that corrections staff failed to provide appropriate oversight of the inmates in the recreation yard. It is clear that the evening physical head count was not conducted in accordance with department policies and procedures. This allowed Fernandez’ escape to go unnoticed for an Pima County Sheriff’s Department
PCSD says it will address these issues as part of a formal review of the incident and take corrective action.
