Two Escaped Inmates Captured, Two Remain at Large After New Jersey Detention Facility Breakout

Federal Bureau of Investigation officials in Newark, New Jersey, confirmed on Sunday that two of the four escaped inmates, who were illegal immigrants, have been apprehended. The escapees broke out of Delaney Hall, a privately operated Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility, on the evening of June 12. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had previously described the four individuals as posing "public safety threats."

The FBI announced the captures of Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez and Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada on Sunday. Franklin Norberto Bautista Reyes and Andres Felipe Pineda Mogollon remain at large. All four suspects are from Honduras. The DHS is offering a reward of $10,000 for information that leads to their arrests.

Bautista-Reyes entered the U.S. illegally in 2021 and was arrested by the Wayne Township, New Jersey, Police Department on May 3. The charges included aggravated assault, attempted bodily injury, terroristic threats, and unlawful weapon possession. Sandoval-Lopez, who entered the U.S. illegally as a minor in 2019, was arrested by the Passaic Police Department in October for unlawful handgun possession and again on February 15 for aggravated assault.

Castaneda-Lozada entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was arrested by the Hammonton Police Department on May 15 for burglary, theft, and conspiracy to commit burglary. Pineda-Mogollon entered the U.S. in 2023 and overstayed his tourist visa. He was arrested by the Police Department on April 25 for larceny and again on May 21 by the Union, New Jersey, Police Department for residential burglary, conspiracy to commit residential burglary, and possession of burglary tools.

According to immigration attorney Mustafa Cetin, approximately 50 detainees at the private facility became agitated due to delayed meals and pushed down a dormitory wall. Cetin stated that the situation escalated from issues with food to aggression and violence.

Around 9 p.m. on June 12, a group of protesters blocked an SUV from exiting an ancillary gate at Delaney Hall, forcing it to retreat back into the facility. The DHS disputed reports of widespread unrest at the facility, stating that the detention center provides various services.