Search underway for 3 inmates who escaped from Orange County jail

She also said investigators had received several helpful tips and were contacting people who know or are related to the inmates to find out if they got any help.

The inmates were last seen at 5am on Friday at the Orange County Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana, about 40 miles south-east of Los Angeles.

They escaped Friday at the Orange County Men’s Central Jail in Santa Ana.

Duong is facing an attempted murder charge, authorities said, while Tieu has been charged with murder.

All three inmates were in custody for violent charges.

Tieu is charged with murder, Duong with attempted murder and Nayeri with kidnapping and torture, the sheriff’s department said. He was held on a $1 million bail and had been in custody since October 2013.

The third inmate who escaped with Tieu and Nayeri was Bac Duong.

Authorities immediately began searching for the inmates at the Central Jail complex, located at 550 N. Flower St., and the adjacent Civic Center, the Sheriff’s Department stated in a special bulletin released early the following morning.

The manhunt continues for three risky escaped inmates from the Santa Ana jail.

Refresh this developing story for updates. A $20,000 reward was being offered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for information leading to the arrest of any and all escapees. Nayeri, who was in custody since September 2014, faces charges of kidnapping, torture, burglary and aggravated mayhem.

“Obviously the safety of the community is No. 1”, Hallock said at a news conference.

“We believe this was a very sophisticated, very well-thought out plan that may have been in the works for weeks up to months”, Carrie Braun, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, told the LA Times.

It is believed they took the owner to a deserted spot, hid money and then chopped off his penis.

Prosecutors allege that while driving to the desert, Nayeri and two other men burned the dispensary owner with a blowtorch and cut off his penis.

They should be considered unsafe, based on the crimes of which they are accused, but authorities had no specific information indicating whether they were armed, Hallock said.

Evidence indicated that the prisoners cut through 1/2-inch steel bars, made their way through plumbing tunnels and gaining access to an unsecured area of the jail’s roof, according to Hallock.