A pair of escaped inmates were found enjoying pancakes at an IHOP after tunneling through a wall in their cell and fleeing from a Virginia prison, police said.
John Garza and Arley Nemo escaped from the Newport News Jail Annex Monday afternoon, the Newport News Sheriff’s Office said. Guards realized the men were missing during a routine head count around 7:15 p.m., 13 News Now reported.
The sheriff’s office said Garza and Nemo “had tunneled through a cell wall leading to the exterior and proceeded to scale the security wall.”
Authorities found the men eating breakfast at an International House of Pancakes in the nearby city of Hampton early Tuesday around 3:30 a.m. Both men were taken back into custody without issue.
Police said they located the pair after a tipster recognized them at the breakfast restaurant and alerted law enforcement.
Nemo has been in custody since October on charges including credit card fraud, credit card larceny, forgery, possession of burglary tools, grand larceny, contempt of court and probation violation, according to the sheriff’s office.
Garza has been in custody since December on charges including contempt of court, probation violations and failure to appear. He pleaded guilty to failure to appear and an S/C CCD violation.