Los Angeles

Homeless Man Spots Stolen Van Used by Orange County Jail Fugitives: Report

A homeless man in San Francisco who reported sighting a stolen van being used by two jail fugitives could end up collecting $140,000 in reward money, according to a newspaper account.

Matthew Hay-Chapman told the San Francisco Chronicle he often sleeps in a park but still follows current events and knew the fugitives might be nearby when he spotted the white van.

He alerted police and a short time later Hossein Nayeri and Jonathan Tieu were in custody. Another inmate, Bac Duong, had turned himself in a day earlier at an auto shop near the Orange County jail where the escape occurred on Jan. 22.

The 55-year-old Hay-Chapman told the Chronicle that he hopes to use the reward money to rebuild his life and help his troubled son, disabled daughter and two young grandchildren who are in foster care in Oregon.

Representatives from the San Francisco Police Department did not respond immediately to NBC Bay Area on Wednesday to confirm the account.

Duong surrendered Friday. Nayeri and Tieu were arrested Saturday morning in San Francisco. Ten people had been arrested since the escape. Several other arrests — for unrelated warrants or probation issues — also took place during the manhunt. Nayeri had been in custody since September 2014, Tieu since October 2013 and Duong since December.

NBC LA's Jason Kandel contributed to this report.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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