HOLLISTER – Authorities are searching for an inmate who escaped from San Benito County jail Tuesday.
The inmate – identified as 37-year-old Daniel Lopez Zavala – clambered over an 8-foot-tall barbed-wire fence just before 2 a.m., the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office said in an advisory. He then ran northeast away from the jail, located at 710 Flynn Road.
Deputies, along with Hollister police officers, searched for Zavala but did not find him during an initial search.
During a second, more thorough search, canines picked up on Zavala’s scent and led authorities to his discarded pants in an open field and then to the 1800 block of Airway Drive. That’s where the sheriff’s office said it believes Zavala was picked up in a car.
“We are still actively searching for Mr. Zavala, and we will continue to utilize all leads and technology to track and apprehend him and anyone who is assisting him,” the sheriff’s office said in the advisory.
The sheriff’s office said Zavala does not pose a specific threat to the public, but he does have an “extensive criminal history,” including prior charges of shooting into an inhabited dwelling, gang-related assault with a firearm and battery with serious bodily injury.
Current charges against Zavala include felon in possession of a firearm, manufacturing a short-barrel rifle and child cruelty.
Zavala is 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He has San Benito County” and “Hollis” tattooed on his chest, skulls and women tattooed on his arms and shoulders, “ESN” tattooed on his back, and “Alexia” and “Amaya” tattooed on his stomach. He was last seen wearing a brown jail shirt, orange jail pants and black shoes.
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who sees Zavala to call 911 or text a tip to 888777 (type TIP SBCSO).
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.