Annie Gilbertson/SPCR
An Orange County man accused of helping three inmates escape from a Santa Ana jail in January will be asked to enter a plea on multiple charges in court Monday. Loc Ba Nguyen is charged with smuggling weapons into the Central Men’s Jail and aiding escape, among other charges. He could facemore than five years in prison. Orange County Sheriff’s detectives accused Nguyen, 50, of sneaking a knife into the Orange County jail sometime between January 12 and 15. They also said he picked the three escapees up off of a Santa Ana street soon after they broke out.
Loc Ba Nguyen allegedly drove the getaway car for three inmates fleeing an Orange County jail in January. He is accused of smuggling weapons into a correctional facility and aiding prisoners escape, among other charges. Orange County Sheriff’s Department
Hossein Nayeri, Jonathan Tieu, and Bac Duong cut open a steel grate in the wall inside the dorm and, on January 22, climbed through the facility’s plumbing tunnels and on to the roof.
They slid down on bed sheets and into a getaway car allegedly driven by Nguyen. The escapees were at large for about a week before being caught.
Last week, Orange County responded to criticism from members of the O.C. Board of Supervisors that the investigation is proceeding too slowly. She’s scheduled to speak with Orange County supervisors about the investigation in closed session on Tuesday.
So far, Nguyen is the only person charged in connection with the escape besides the inmates themselves.
Detectives initially accused multiple suspects of assisting the escapees, but prosecutors declined to charge an ESL teacher accused of providing a map to the inmates, citing insufficient evidence.
Nguyen faces four felony counts, which include two counts of sending an article useful for escape into a prison in addition to the smuggling weapons charge.
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http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/02/22/57750/oc-jail-break-alleged-getaway-driver-to-enter-plea/
