A convicted rapist who escaped from a county jail in southern Minnesota was captured in a field following a chase late Wednesday just a few miles outside of town, officials said Thursday.
Convicted rapist who escaped from southern Minnesota jail is captured in a field 6 miles away
Four people have been arrested on suspicion of aiding the inmate after his escape.
November 2, 2023 at 3:21PM
Leonardo Lopez Jr., 36, fled from the Watonwan County jail in St. James shortly before 7 p.m. Monday as he was being transferred from one area of the jail to another.
St. James police and sheriff's deputies tracked down Lopez in a pickup truck about 6 miles north of town on 710th Avenue near Hwy. 30, said chief sheriff's Deputy Mark Slater.
The pickup was stopped, and Lopez ran into a nearby field but was soon apprehended without further incident, Slater said.
Two men in the pickup, ages 36 and 52, were arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting Lopez's effort to remain free, the chief deputy said. Two more people — a 20-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man — also were arrested for their alleged roles in aiding Lopez.
All four remain jailed awaiting charges. The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.
Court records show that Lopez was arrested and jailed in early August because he failed to report a new address as a state-registered predatory sex offender.
In 2006, an 18-year-old Lopez was convicted in Watonwan County of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. His criminal history in Minnesota also includes convictions for domestic abuse, burglary and fleeing police.
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