Politics & Government
Detainees Who Escaped Immigrant Jail, Again In Custody, Face New Charges
The detainees now face up to a year in prison and $100,000 fines each, the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey announced on Friday.
September 9, 2025
The four detainees who escaped an immigrant jail in Newark earlier this summer have been caught and now face up to a year imprisonment and $100,000 fines each, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey announced Friday.
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The last of the escapees, Andres Felipe Pineda Mogollon, 25, of Colombia, appeared in federal court on Aug. 18, the office announced.
Mogollon, along with Franklin Norberto Bautista Reyes, 20, of Honduras; Joan Sebastian Castaneda Lozada, 18, of Colombia; and Joel Enrrique Sandoval-Lopez, 22, of Honduras, escaped Delaney Hall in Newark on June 12 by busting through a second-story aluminum wall, dropping mattresses through the opening to soften their landing, and hurdling jail fences by using bed sheets to cover the barbed wire.
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Three were apprehended in New Jersey within a week of their escape, on June 15 and 16, while Mogollon was apprehended in Los Angeles on July 17, according to the office.
The 1,100-bed immigrant jail — the first to open under President Donald Trump’s second term — is owned and operated by the private prison company Geo Group under a 15-year contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It has drawn protests since it opened in May, with New Jersey’s two senators stating that the escape proves the facility is in “shoddy” condition and should be evacuated.
It was also the site of a May 9 scuffle between visiting politicians and jail security that fueled complaints that acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba is using her position to attack political foes. During that fracas, officers arrested Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Habba later secured an indictment of Rep. LaMonica McIver, after accusing her of assaulting officers outside the jail. Baraka and McIver are Democrats.
Baraka’s charges were quickly dropped, while McIver’s case remains ongoing.
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