California prisoner who escaped in 2011 arrested in New York, faces extradition

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) today announced the arrest of a person who was walking away from the Delta Conservation Camp in Suisun City on November 15, 2011. Eduardo Hernandez was apprehended without incident at New York at approximately 4:18 p.m. on May 20, 2024. Hernandez will be extradited to California for release into CDCR custody. Hernandez's case will be referred to the Solano County Prosecutor for possible escape charges. Hernandez was convicted on July 6, 2005 in Los Angeles County and received by CDCR on August 4, 2005. Hernandez was sentenced to thirteen years in prison for carjacking with an enhancement for use of a firearm. Since 1977, 99 percent of all people who have left an adult facility, camp or community program without authorization have been apprehended. — Eduardo Hernandez, who was serving a 13-year prison sentence for carjacking, disappeared from a minimum-security detention camp in Solano County, California, more than a decade ago. An inmate who escaped with him is still on the run. (California Department of Corrections)

A man who escaped from a California prison camp in 2011 has been captured in New York, authorities said Friday.

Authorities said Eduardo Hernandez, 42, was arrested without incident on May 20 and will soon be extradited to California, where he could face charges for his escape in Solano County.

Hernandez had served six years of a 13-year sentence for carjacking when he escaped from the Delta minimum-security camp in Suisun City in 2011. He fled with another inmate, Jose Padilla.

The men were last seen around 4:30 a.m. on November 15. Although both men were wearing jeans and orange shirts labeled “CDCR Prisoner,” they disappeared. Their escape was widely covered by the media.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation referred reporters to the New York Police Department for details on how Hernandez was apprehended. NYPD officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

California prison officials have said that since 1977, 99 percent of “individuals who leave an adult facility, camp or community program without authorization” have been arrested.

Padilla was not among those arrested. Authorities said Saturday that he had “not yet been apprehended.”

Sign up for Essential California to get news, features and recommendations from the LA Times and beyond delivered to your inbox six days a week.

This story was originally published in the Los Angeles Times.