By Ana Ceballos
Monterey Herald
SOLEDAD — Two hours after authorities noticed an inmate had escaped from a minimum-security prison in Soledad, he was found at a McDonald’s parking lot and taken back into custody.
Tevis Michael Stephens, 37, who was convicted of being in possession of a controlled substance last year, was housed at the Minimum Support Facility at the Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad. Authorities at the facility did not notify the public that Stephens had left, and said he was unaccounted for about 9:15 p.m. Monday.
“We don’t know exactly when he escaped,” said Jeffrey Callison, the press secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Callison said Stephens was more of a “walk-away inmate” than an escapee.
The minimum-security facility “is not a very secure facility,” Callison said.
“There is no security perimeter or electrical wire on a fence,” he said.
Full story: Escaped prison inmate found outside McDonald’s in Soledad