EARLIER REPORT
The escapee from Tri-County Jail who prompted a nationwide hunt has now been federally charged and could be headed to Mexico, according to federal court documents.
Staling Santos-Reyes, 40, who is originally from the Dominican Republic but last lived in Bronx, N.Y., was told by his girlfriend to flee to Mexico to avoid a possible 11-year jail sentence, according to a complaint filed in Dayton’s U.S. District Court.
Santos-Reyes has been federally charged with flight to avoid prosecution, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years. That would be separate than the charges he faces for being found with 8.76 pounds of heroin in his vehicle.
EARLIER: Nationwide search for escaped Tri-County Regional Jail inmate
The criminal complaint said jail phone calls were reviewed, and it was revealed that Esther Ramirez, the suspect’s significant other, advised Santos-Reyes to get to Mexico to avoid criminal charges in Madison County.
Santos-Reyes’ car was stopped by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper on Feb. 7 with five duct-taped packages of heroin. The suspect admitted he was paid $3,000 to deliver the heroin to someone in Bronx and that he would get an additional $1,500 per package.
On April 27, Santos-Reyes jumped a fence and fled from the Tri-County Jail near Mechanicsburg in Champaign County. He was charged the next day with escape, and federal marshals were unsuccessful in locating him.
Santos-Reyes is a 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs approximately 140 pounds. He is 40 years old.
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