By Dylan Head
Editor In Chief

A prison inmate assigned to a Chimney Fire crew escaped custody early Monday from the base camp, located next to Cuesta College, but he didn’t enjoy his freedom for long.

Cuesta Police soon located the escapee hiding in a portable restroom near the soccer fields.

Campus police, who conducted a sweep of the campus, were alerted to the inmate’s possible whereabouts after receiving a call reporting suspicious behavior in that area, authorities said.

The escapee, identified as Jose A. Paredes, 25, was serving a two-year sentence for first-degree burglary and was scheduled to be released in May 2017, according to the California Department of Corrections. Paredes is described as a Hispanic male, age 25, about 5′ 10″ tall, medium build, with black hair and brown eyes.

Sometime after a routine security check at 3:30 a.m. Monday, Paredes walked away from the Chimney Incident Base Camp, located near Cuesta’s east entrance, authorities said. He was then apprehended in a portable restroom at 10:09 a.m. by Cuesta police. Police were conducting searches of campus buildings, but there are no plans to postpone or cancel classes.

In a campus alert, Cuesta College officials urged students to be aware of their surroundings and to report suspicious behavior to the campus police at 546-3911.

More information will be posted when it becomes available.