Dijon Barber, a convicted robber, has been captured in Las Vegas after escaping from a reentry program facility in Los Angeles County. Barber walked away from the Male Community Reentry Program on April 12, making him at least the ninth person to escape from such facilities in California this year.
Barber was serving a four-year sentence for robbery, theft from an elder or dependent adult, and grand theft when he left the facility. His escape went unnoticed for nearly two weeks until he was apprehended by the North Las Vegas Criminal Apprehension Team.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) confirmed Barber’s capture but did not provide details about how he ended up in Las Vegas, which is over 250 miles away from where he escaped. Officials stated that he was taken into custody without incident.
The reentry program, designed to help incarcerated individuals transition back into society, has seen thousands of participants since its inception ten years ago. To qualify for this program, individuals must have no more than 32 months left on their sentences and at least 60 days until their earliest release date. The state plans to expand these programs to cover every county by this summer.
Barber will be returned to California and placed in a CDCR institution. His case will be referred to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office for potential escape charges. Most of the individuals who have escaped this year have been tracked down, but Barber’s case highlights ongoing challenges in managing reentry programs effectively.