South Lake Tahoe jail escapee captured by FBI task force in Las Vegas
A FBI task force in Las Vegas has captured a man who escaped from a South Lake Tahoe jail last November while facing domestic violence charges, sheriff’s officials said.
Ruben Zavala Garcia was found and arrested by the Las Vegas FBI Fugitive Task Force on Feb. 23, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff’s investigators had been working with the FBI Sacramento Field Office in the three-month search for Zavala Garcia.
The FBI in Las Vegas followed a vehicle Zavala was in while additional law enforcement responded to the area to apprehend the fugitive. Sheriff’s officials said he was taken into custody without incident.
Zavala Garcia was being held at the Clark County Detention Center and will be extradited to El Dorado County to face his local criminal charges. He now faces a charge of escaping from jail, along with previous charges of domestic violence, violating a restraining order, false imprisonment, burglary and violating probation.
Sheriff’s officials said Zavala Garcia escaped on Nov. 23 while performing supervised inmate worker duties outside of the jail facility. He was being held in lieu of bail and had not been convicted or sentenced.
Deputies canvassed the South Lake Tahoe area but did not locate Garcia after an all-night search. The alleged victim in Garcia’s domestic violence criminal case was notified of his escape.
