Escaped inmate is back in custody; he and girlfriend arrested after ‘stand off’ in Nevada

Maybe all you bad boys should sit up and take notice — Angelo Atencio’s mad dash for freedom after he escaped from the Lassen County Jail Friday, Dec. 2 sure didn’t last very long. Just five days later, Wednesday, Dec. 7, Atencio II, 35, is now back in custody, and he and his girlfriend who was captured with him probably will face charges in two different states.

According to a statement from the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and detectives have been working around the clock in what was essentially an “all hands-on deck manhunt” for the escaped inmate. The LCSO investigated several leads, which lead to the service of several search warrants, building searches and citizen contacts in attempt to locate Atencio.

The case finally broke about 8 p.m. yesterday when detectives received information about Atencio hiding at a residence near Winnemucca, Nevada.

Lassen County detectives had already been in contact with deputies from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office through-out this investigation, and upon determining the high probability of Atencio’s whereabouts Tuesday night, LCSO detectives immediately notified the HCSO and provided them with the address where they believed Atencio was hiding.

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Deputies from the HCSO surrounded the residence and were able to confirm that Atencio and his girlfriend, Ashly Ward, 33, were inside.  Atencio and Ward refused to exit the residence and a standoff ensued.  The HCSO SWAT team was deployed.

At approximately 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, both Atencio and Ward were taken into custody.  Details regarding the arrests of Atencio and Ward will be released by the HCSO. Lassen News will share their press release when it becomes available.

According to a statement from the LCSO, “The LCSO summoned the assistance of several outside agencies through-out the course of this investigation. We would personally like to thank the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Fugitive Apprehension Team, CDCR High Desert ISU Team, FBI Reno RA Safe Streets Task Force, FBI Sacramento Safe Streets Task Force, FBI Sacramento and Las Vegas, the HCSO in Nevada, the Lassen County District Attorney’s Office and Lassen County Crime Stoppers.”

Details on Atencio’s escape and remedial measures taken by the Lassen County Jail will be released in the next day or two.

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