April 15, 2021 - SAN GABRIEL — California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Special Service Unit agents, the Los Angeles Fugitive Apprehension Team and the Long Beach Police Department apprehended Richard Ledesma on Thursday at 2:45 p.m. in San Gabriel.

Ledesma, who had been missing from the Male Community Reentry Program (MCRP) facility in Los Angeles since Feb. 12, was taken into custody without incident. He will be transported to California Institution for Men and his case will be referred to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for consideration of escape charges. Ledesma was admitted from Los Angeles County on March 16, 2020, to serve a two-year, eight-month sentence for grand theft, a second strike. Ledesma arrived at the MCRP on Nov. 30, 2020. He was scheduled for release from CDCR custody in November 2021.

The MCRP allows eligible offenders committed to state prison to serve the end of their sentences in the reentry center and provides them the programs and tools necessary to transition from custody to the community. It is a voluntary program for male offenders who have approximately one year left to serve. The program connects 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.

Since 1977, 99 percent of all offenders who have left an adult institution, camp, or community-based program without permission have been apprehended.
Source: CDCR