A 36-year-old convicted auto thief who walked away from a Male Community Reentry Program facility in Los Angeles was being sought by authorities this morning.
At 9:15 p.m. Friday, officials determined Richard Ledesma had left without authorization and agents from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Office of Correctional Safety were dispatched to locate and apprehend him. Ledesma is Hispanic, 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 175 pounds with black hair and brown eyes and multiple tattoos on his face and neck.
Ledesma was received by CDCR from Los Angeles County on March 16, 2020 to serve a two-year, eight month sentence for grand theft, his second strike. He was transferred to the MCRP on Nov. 30 and was scheduled to be released from custody Nov. 25, 2021.
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The Male Community Reentry Program allows eligible offenders committed to state prison to serve the end of their sentences in the reentry center and provides them with programs and tools necessary to transition from custody to freedom. It is a voluntary program for male offenders who have about one year left to serve.
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.
Anyone seeing Ledesma or with any knowledge of his whereabouts should immediately contact law enforcement or call 911.
Since 1977, 99% of all offenders who have left an adult institution, camp, or community-based program without permission have been apprehended, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
