A Northern California inmate who walked away from a state conservation camp in El Dorado County nearly six months ago was arrested Wednesday in Orange County, state corrections officials said.
Juan David Veramancini, 49, was apprehended by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department on suspicion of first-degree burglary and possession of stolen property, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Prison staff realized he had escaped from Growlersburg Conservation Camp near Georgetown during an evening head count on Feb. 23. He had been serving a one-year sentence for first-degree burglary.
Following his arraignment on the Orange County charges, Veramancini will be returned to CDCR custody and rehoused at a state institution, officials said. His case will also be referred to the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office for consideration of escape charges.
Growlersburg is one of California’s conservation camps and considered a minimum-security facility where eligible incarcerated people get training to fight wildfires and perform other emergency and public service work.
CDCR said 99% of people who have left a state adult institution, camp or community-based program without permission since 1977 have been apprehended.
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This article originally published at Escaped Northern California inmate arrested after six months on the run.