A prison inmate serving the last year of his sentence in a community program in Los Angeles was recaptured Sunday in North Hollywood after tampering with his GPS monitor and walking off.
Joshua Cortez, 30, serving time for possessing or receiving forged papers, was found about 10:10 a.m. Sunday after going missing two days earlier, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Cortez disappearance was noticed around 10:10 a.m. Friday, when state corrections officials discovered that his GPS device was not working.
His last known location before his capture was near the North Hollywood Metro station, authorities said.
Cortez was found at a residence on the 8200 block of Lankershim Boulevard, where a parolee named Robert Romero was living. Special agents from the corrections department saw Cortez leave the residence.
Romero, who had served time for assault with a deadly weapon, was a known associate of Cortez. He may face charges of harboring an escapee.
Cortez was participating in the Male Community Reentry Program, which allows some inmates to finish their sentences at re-entry centers outside of prison. The men receive help finding jobs, as well as drug and mental health treatment if necessary, in hopes that they will become law-abiding citizens, according to the newspaper.
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Cortez was scheduled to be released in September but now faces possible prosecution on escape charges, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a news release. He had previously served time for first-degree burglary, then returned to prison in April on the forgery charge. He transferred to the Los Angeles community program in October, the Times said.
