The last of four detainees who broke out of a Newark, New Jersey, migrant detention facility in June has been captured — nearly 2,500 miles away in California.
Andres Felipe Pineda-Mogollon, a Colombian national, escaped on June 12 from a privately run Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Friday. DHS later confirmed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had tracked him down in Los Angeles and taken him back into custody. (RELATED: ICE Declares Illegal Migrants Ineligible For Bond Hearings)
“We are tremendously grateful to our brave ICE agents and law enforcement partners for capturing Andres Pineda-Mogollon and the other three dangerous criminal illegal aliens who escaped Delaney Hall,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the DHS press release. “Politicians and activists relentlessly try to smear ICE — but the facts remain true: Delaney Hall houses dangerous criminals, including these four fugitives who committed aggravated assault, burglary, theft and even threatened to kill law enforcement.”
On July 17, Los Angeles HSI and FBI arrested Andres Felipe Pineda-Mogollon, 25, A Colombian national, on charges for escaping custody. He was wanted by the FBI for escaping Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey on June 12. He is in BOP custody pending proceedings. pic.twitter.com/lmwh67j1nv
— HSI Los Angeles (@HSILosAngeles) July 18, 2025
Pineda-Mogollon had overstayed a tourist visa issued in 2023 and remained in the U.S. unlawfully, the agency said.
The three other illegal escapees — Franklin Norberto Bautista Reyes and Joel Enrique Sandoval Lopez, both from Honduras, and Joan Sebastian Castaneda Lozada, also from Colombia — were captured in June.
“Now, these slimeballs no longer pose a threat to public safety,” McLaughlin said.
Some 50 detainees complained about late meals and poor conditions before shoving down a dormitory wall, according to an immigration lawyer who spoke with ABC-7 New York. The Justice Department further said the four fled through the parking lot after tearing the wall down, using mattresses to cushion a two-story jump and draping bedsheets over barbed wire.
Pineda-Mogollon was first arrested by the New York Police Department on April 25 for theft, then again by Union police on May 21 for residential burglary, possession of burglary tools and conspiracy, according to the DHS press release. (RELATED: Trump Admin Moves To Pull Plug On Deportation Protections For Thousands Of Migrants)
FBI Agents assisted by HSI arrested fugitive Andres Pineda Mogollon who was wanted for escaping from a Newark detention facility in June. Mogollon, who was previously arrested for petty larceny & burglary, was arrested after a traffic stop in Silver Lake. https://t.co/kAwrB52psr pic.twitter.com/eLTROf85jX
— FBI Los Angeles (@FBILosAngeles) July 17, 2025
The three other escapees were recaptured by June 18, but Pineda-Mogollon managed to evade authorities for more than a month before his arrest Thursday.
The FBI has not disclosed how he made his way to California. Officials had offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the capture of any of the four fugitives, according to the Associated Press. (RELATED: Illegal Migrant Orchestrated ICE Kidnapping Hoax To Gin Up GoFundMe Cash, Complaint Alleges)