Fire Truck Used By Inmate to Escape Prison Found in Spring Valley

Law enforcement officers Monday sought a prisoner who stole a fire engine to escape from Richard J. Donovan state prison in Otay Mesa on New Year’s Day.

Thomas Francis Kelly, 51, worked as a prison firefighter. He was locked up for a parole violation stemming from a 2008 car theft conviction, Lt. Patrick Logan of the state prison system said.

Kelley was in the minimum-security section of the prison and scheduled to be released in December 2013, Logan said.

Kelley was reported missing during a head count about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Logan said.

Prison guards said Kelley went missing about the time sheriff’s deputies saw a fire engine being driven inexpertly in Spring Valley, about 10 miles away from the prison. The driver jumped out and ran when a deputy tried to stop it.

Sheriff’s Lt. David Gilmore, however, said the fire engine was found unoccupied at a 7-Eleven at Jamacha Road and Elkelton Boulevard in Spring Valley.

Kelley is white, about 5 feet 10 inches and 160 pounds, with light brown hair and
blue eyes.

-City News Service