One of the four men who escaped from a federal immigration detention center in Newark earlier this week has been caught, officials told NJ Advance Media Saturday.
Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez was taken into custody Friday in Passaic and later moved, according to the city police department. Federal authorities had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of the escapees.
The department provided no additional information about his capture. It did not comment on his current location.
Sandoval-Lopez had illegally entered the U.S. from Honduras as a minor in 2019, according to the federal Department of Homeland Security. He had since been arrested in Passaic twice, one for unlawful possession of a handgun and once for aggravated assault, according to the department.
Sandoval-Lopez and three others — Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada, Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes and Andres Pineda-Mogollon — escaped Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark on Thursday following a violent uprising inside the center.
According to officials, around 50 detainees started a riot and broke down a wall, which allowed for the escape from the privately-run immigration center.
Mustafa Cetin, an attorney for an inmate that was not involved in the incident, confirmed the unrest.
The recently reopened 1,000-bed detention center is operated by the private company GEO Group and has been criticized by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for refusing city inspections.
“As stated in our ongoing legal complaint, the City of Newark has never received permit applications from GEO Group to construct an interior wall,” Baraka said in a statement Friday.
“Had it applied for a Certificate of Occupancy and/or construction permits, the city would have inspected the integrity of that wall. This chaotic outcome is precisely why the city has ordinances requiring all facilities, including this ICE facility, to apply for the proper permits – and why we have taken the GEO Group to court to ensure the safety of both detainees and their own employees.”
Baraka was arrested for trespassing at the facility in May, but the federal charges were quickly dropped.
Baraka, a Democrat, had visited Delaney Hall several times in the days before his arrest, along with city officials, to issue citations to GEO Group for not allowing inspections.
U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-10th District, was recently charged with felony assault related to the same incident.
On Thursday evening, around 6 p.m., about three dozen people from groups that regularly protest at Delaney Hall said they saw dozens of heavily armed officers arrive at the facility.
Deion Johnson may be reached at djohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Instagram at @DeionRJohnson or X @DeionRJohhnson.
