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(CNN) Two inmates who escaped from a prison in Newport News, Virginia by digging and climbing walls were found hours later at a nearby IHOP, officials said.
The Newport News Prison Annex said two inmates, John M. Garza, 37, and Early V. Nemo, 43, went missing during a routine census around 7 p.m. Monday night. The Newport News Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that it had discovered that
The two had dug a hole in one of the prison walls using “primitive tools” made out of toothbrushes and metal objects, the sheriff’s office said in a preliminary investigation. The tool helped them access the rebar in the wall, which they used for the rest of their escape, officials added.
After getting outside, the two encountered a containment wall, which they had to scale to leave the area, the release said.
Garza and Nemo were later found Tuesday morning at an IHOP in Hampton, Virginia, where they were arrested by police.
A hole in the prison wall when two inmates escaped, according to the Newport News Sheriff’s Office.
“Thank you to the citizens who observed Garza and Nemo at IHOP and reported them to law enforcement. Sheriff Gabe Morgan said in a news release.
The sheriff’s office said it has a team of officers and city facilities engineers looking at the incident and ways to “mitigate the aforementioned facility weaknesses.”
Garza was in custody on charges including contempt of court, probation violations and refusal to appear. According to the sheriff’s office, Nemo was being held on charges of credit card fraud, credit card theft, counterfeiting, possession of burglary gear, grand theft, contempt of court and violating probation.
The Sheriff’s Office has ongoing criminal and internal investigations to “minimize the likelihood of such an incident occurring again,” the release said.
Escape-related charges are pending against both inmates, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
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