What to Know
- A store owner in Brooklyn alerted police to a suspicious job applicant who ended up being a fugitive wanted for escaping from a jail in Ohio
- Staling Santos-Reyes was taking out trash at the jail when he made a run for it and somehow ended up in East New York, police say
- Santos-Reyes was serving time at a jail west of Columbus, Ohio, for allegedly having $600,000 worth of heroin and cocaine in his car
A store owner in Brooklyn alerted police to a suspicious job applicant who ended up being a fugitive wanted for escaping from a jail in the Midwest last month.
The East New York store owner was the break authorities needed to capture Staling Santos-Reyes, who escaped from a jail in central Ohio in April, according to police.
“I can’t express how amazing this community member is,” NYPD Sgt. Tim Cecchini said. “He’s aces, he’s the guy.”
The storeowner told police the job applicant had mentioned he was from the Bronx, got into some trouble and was wanted -- Santos-Reyes fit the description.
"He was adamant about not being put on the books, and adamant about not using his real name," Cecchini said of Santos-Reyes.
When police showed the store owner mugshots, he picked Santos-Reyes out.
Local
Santos-Reyes was serving time at a jail west of Columbus, Ohio, for allegedly having $600,000 worth of heroin and cocaine in his car.
Police said Santos-Reyes was taking out trash at the jail when he made a run for it. Somehow he ended up in East New York, where he had been for the past month.
Police said Santos-Reyes was cooperating Wednesday night.
