Update: SLO County burglar back in custody after escape from Bakersfield facility
A convicted San Luis Obispo County burglar who escaped from a Male Community Reentry Program facility in Bakersfield was apprehended Thursday afternoon.
Felipe Rodriguez, 46, was taken into custody without incident at around 4:50 p.m. several hours after he walked away from the facility on Thursday morning, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a news release.
He will now be transported to North Kern State Prison, and the District Attorney’s office will consider whether to file escape charges.
Rodriguez received a four-year sentence for burglary, according to a news release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and joined the reentry program in Kern County on June 23.
The program is designed to support inmates in the “transition from custody to community,” the release said. “The program links 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.”
Male inmates in state prison can volunteer for the program when they have two years or less to serve of their sentence, the release said.
Officials learned that Rodriguez “walked out” of the facility at about 5:25 a.m. on Thursday. Officials conducted an emergency count, and confirmed that he was missing.
Now, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officers are searching for him.
Rodriguez is 5-feet-7-inches tall, and he weighs about 215 pounds.
“His last known location was near the intersection of Brundage Lane and South Owens Street in Bakersfield, and he was last seen wearing a blue jeans, a white undershirt and a gray sweatshirt,” the release said.
If you see Rodriguez or know where he might be, call 911 or Special Agent Sal Herrera at 559-217-0022.
“Since 1977, 99% of all people who have left an adult institution, camp or community-based program without permission have been apprehended,” the news release said.
This story was originally published August 14, 2025 at 10:07 AM.
CORRECTION: The story has been updated with details on the escaped inmate’s capture.
