Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correctly identify the neighborhood where the MCRP is located.
SAN DIEGO — Authorities say a man at a San Diego transitional prison facility walked away from the program without permission Friday night — and he left behind his GPS tracking device.
The man, identified as 28-year-old Antonio Antunez Jr., left the Male Community Re-Entry Program in Barrio Logan some time late Friday evening, according to the state corrections department.
“An emergency search began at about 10 p.m. Friday night after … Antunez’s GPS monitor alerted it was tampered with, and he was seen leaving the MCRP without permission,” prison officials wrote in a news release. “The GPS device has been found,” but not Antunez, the agency added.
Authorities provided a picture of the inmate, who stands 5 feet, 5 inches tall, weighs about 176 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. Anyone who sees him or might know where he is was urged to call 911 or contact local law enforcement.
He was originally serving time for burglary, according to the correction’s department. Prison officials say he was transferred to the MCRP in October and was scheduled for supervised released in March 2022.
The MCRP is a program offered to certain inmates that offers them a way to end their sentence in a dedicated re-entry center as opposed to a typical prison. The programs offer resources that can help people when they leave custody.
“The program links offenders to a range of community-based rehabilitative services that assist with substance use disorders, mental health care, medical care, employment, education, housing, family reunification and social support,” state prison officials said.
“Since 1977, 99 percent of all offenders who have left an adult institution, camp, or community-based program without permission have been apprehended.”
