The final illegal immigrant inmate who escaped an ICE center in New Jersey last month was arrested by the FBI after being tracked down on the other side of the country.
Andres Felipe Pineda-Mogollon was taken into custody Thursday in Los Angeles after a traffic stop in the Silver Lake neighborhood, the FBI's Los Angeles Office wrote on X. Homeland Security Investigations assisted in the arrest.
"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," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
"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. Now, these slimeballs no longer pose a threat to public safety."
THIRD ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CAPTURED AFTER ICE FACILITY BREAKOUT
The Colombian entered the U.S. in 2023 and overstayed his tourist visa. He was one of four inmates DHS described as "public safety threats" who broke out of Delaney Hall, a privately-run ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey, the evening of June 12.
Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes, Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez and Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada, all from Honduras, were captured before Pineda-Mogollon.
Their escape June 12 happened after an apparent disturbance inside the building, a senior Homeland Security official confirmed to Fox News.
Immigration attorney Mustafa Cetin told NJ.com around 50 detainees at the private center pushed down a dormitory wall after becoming agitated when meals were delayed.
"It's about the food, and some of the detainees were getting aggressive, and it turned violent," Cetin said at the time.
FBI CONFIRMS CAPTURE OF 2 OF 4 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHO ESCAPED FROM NEWARK ICE FACILITY
Pineda-Mogollon was arrested by the New York City Police Department April 25 for larceny and again on May 21 by the Union, New Jersey, Police Department for residential burglary, conspiracy to commit residential burglary and possession of burglary tools.
Bautista-Reyes illegally entered the U.S. in 2021 during the Biden administration and was arrested by the Wayne Township, New Jersey, Police Department May 3 for aggravated assault, attempt to cause bodily injury, terroristic threats and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes.
Sandoval-Lopez illegally entered the U.S. as a minor in 2019 and was arrested by the Passaic Police Department in October for unlawful possession of a handgun and again Feb. 15 for aggravated assault.
Castaneda-Lozada entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was arrested by the Hammonton Police Department May 15 on charges of burglary, theft and conspiracy to commit burglary.
Fox News' Audrey Conklin, Lee Ross, Sandy Ibrahim, Peter Pinedo, Jasmine Baehr and Jennifer Johnson contributed to this report.
