Woman taken into custody after walking away from correctional reentry program in LA County

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- A 25-year-old woman who allegedly walked away from a state correctional reentry program in Los Angeles was back behind bars Monday and facing a possible escape charge.

Aleisha Schmitz was taken into custody without incident around 5:35 p.m. Saturday in North Hills, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

State officials said she walked away from the Custody to Community Transitional Reentry Program in Santa Fe Springs on June 11.

After being apprehended, Schmitz was taken to the California Institution for Women, and her case will be referred to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for consideration of escape charges, according to the CDCR.

Schmitz was sent to state prison from Los Angeles County on July 7, 2022, according to CDCR. She was sentenced to three years behind bars for second-degree robbery and hit-and-run causing injury.

The reentry program allows eligible inmates to serve their sentence in the community, in lieu of confinement in state prison. According to the state, the program provides services that assist with alcohol and drug recovery, employment, education, housing, family reunification and social support.

Since 1977, 99% all incarcerated people who escaped from a prison, camp or community-based program have been apprehended, according to CDCR.