A 35-year-old San Jose woman was arrested Sunday night in Gilroy on suspicion of helping a an escaped fugitive evade police this week.
Emily Vaca was arrested at the Days Inn motel in Gilroy after sheriff’s deputies received a tip that Rogelio Chavez was there. Deputies said she drove escaped fugitives Chavez and Laron Campbell around Santa Clara County to elude them.
Chavez and Campbell, both with numerous charges of assault, burglary, extortion, false imprisonment, criminal threats and firearms violations, have made national news for sawing through the bars of the old downtown Santa Clara County Jail and using bed sheets to rappel from the second floor. Two other prisoners escaped but were immediately caught.
Sheriff Laurie Smith has offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to their arrest. The duo, who escaped Nov. 23, Â were said to have been partying in Gilroy over the weekend. Deputies and Gilroy Police staked out the motel on Murray St. near the Outlets, but the fugitives were gone.
Deputies raided a location on Inman Street in San Jose and are processing what they found there, according to a press release.Â
