Coalinga police quickly arrest prison escapee

Coalinga police captured a prisoner that briefly escaped from the nearby Pleasant Valley State Prison on Dec. 6.

Prison staff advised police that 19-year-old Jessie Quintanilla was missing from his dorm around 10:30 p.m., Lt. Darren Blevins said.

An officer stopped a 1996 Dodge Stratus with expired registration in the area of Forest Avenue and Fifth Street around 11:38 p.m. Quintanilla was behind the wheel and was taken into custody without incident, Blevins said.

Police found that the car Quintanilla was driving was an unreported stolen vehicle from the 1700 block of Willow Springs Avenue in Coalinga. The Stratus owner told police that Quintanilla didn’t have permission to drive it.

Quintanilla was detained by police until prison officials could return him to Pleasant Valley. Blevins said that fresh charges of vehicle theft and possession of stolen property will be submitted to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office for review and filing of charges. Prison officials will submit their case to the district attorney’s office for escape charges on Quintanilla.

This story was originally published December 7, 2015 at 8:16 PM with the headline "Coalinga police quickly arrest prison escapee."