A burglar serving a six-year sentence walked away from a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation re-entry program facility in Los Angeles Friday.
Officials realized about 4:30 p.m. that Deondre Whitfield, 30, had left the Male Community Reentry Program Facility, and an emergency search was conducted, local law enforcement agencies were notified and agents from the CDCR’s Office of Correctional Safety were called in to locate and apprehend Whitfield, according to an official with the CDCR. The location of the facility was not released.
Whitfield was transferred from the California Institution for Men in Chino to the re-entry facility on Nov. 14, and was scheduled to be released in September.
The Male Community Reentry Program “allows eligible offenders committed to state prison to serve the end of their sentences in the re-entry center and provides them the programs and tools necessary to transition from custody to the community,” according to the CDCR.
Authorities encouraged anyone with information about Whitfield’s whereabouts to call law enforcement or 9-1-1.
Since 1977, 99% of all offenders who have left an adult institution, camp or community-based program without permission have been apprehended, according to the department.