Authorities catch 2 detainees who fled New Jersey immigration detention center; 2 remain on the run

NEWARK, N.J. – Two detainees who escaped from a federal immigration detention center in New Jersey last week have been recaptured, while another two remain at large, FBI officials said Sunday.

The four men busted out of the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark during reports of disorder there by breaking through an interior wall that led to an exterior one, and were able to escape from a parking lot, according to U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, and Homeland Security officials.

The FBI said Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez and Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada were taken back into custody since Friday, while Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes and Andres Felipe Pineda-Mogollon were still on the lam. Officials did not immediately say how or where the two who are back in custody were caught. All four men were in the country illegally and had previously been charged with crimes by local police in New Jersey and New York City, Homeland Security officials said.

Sandoval-Lopez, from Honduras, was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun in October and aggravated assault in February, officials said. Castaneda-Lozada, from Colombia, was charged with burglary, theft and conspiracy, authorities said.

Bautista-Reyes, from Honduras, was charged in May with aggravated assault, attempt to cause bodily injury, terroristic threats and a weapon crime. Pineda-Mogollon, from Colombia, was charged with minor larceny and burglary crimes. The FBI has announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of each man.

A spokesperson for the New Jersey public defenders’ office, which represented Sandoval-Lopez, did not immediately return an email seeking comment Sunday. Attorney information for the other three men could not be located on online court records.

Newark’s mayor, Ras Baraka, a Democrat who’s been critical of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, cited reports of a possible uprising and escape after disorder broke out at the facility Thursday night and protesters outside the center locked arms and pushed against barricades as vehicles passed through gates. Much is still unclear about what unfolded there.

But GEO Group, the company that owns and operates the detention facility for the federal government, said in a statement that there was “no widespread unrest” at the facility.

Delaney Hall has been the site of clashes this year between Democratic officials who say the facility needs more oversight and the Trump administration and those who run the facility.

Baraka was arrested May 9, handcuffed and charged with trespassing. The charge was later dropped and U.S. Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver was later charged with assaulting federal officers stemming from a skirmish that happened outside the facility. She has denied the charges.