One of two ICE detainees, who fled after a Colorado jail’s electrical power gave out and inadvertently opened doors to freedom, was captured on Friday, authorities said.
Joel Jose Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 32, was caught by Adams County Sheriff’s deputies, local and federal officials said, leaving fellow escapee Geilond Vido-Romero, 24, still missing.
Deputies acted on a call from the public about “a suspicious person” near West 64th Avenue and Beach Street — about 12 miles northwest of the ICE detention enter in Aurora — at about 4:30 a.m. leading to the capture, sheriff’s Sgt. Adam Sherman said in a statement to NBC News.
The two men were first noticed missing at 12:35 a.m. Wednesday and ICE jailers connected their disappearance to a power outage that happened at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.
An Aurora police report found that “when the power went out, the back doors of the facility opened up to the soccer field,” and ICE officials believe “that both inmates escaped through the back door when the power went out.”
Gonzalez-Gonzalez, who is from Mexico, came to the United States through El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 13, 2013, officials said.
He had been in the Adams County Jail in Brighton, Colorado, on a local charge on Jan. 8 when he landed on ICE’s radar, officials said. He was then arrested by ICE and has been awaiting a court date.
