The head of Nevada's Department of Corrections has resigned at the request of Gov. Steve Sisolak in the wake of an escape by a convicted bombmaker that went unreported for four days.
Sisolak “requested and received Nevada Department of Corrections Director Charles Daniels’ resignation, effective immediately,” the governor's office said in a statement Friday. Six other officers have also been placed on administrative leave.
Porfirio Duarte-Herrera escaped from the Southern Desert Correctional Center outside Las Vegas on Sept. 23 without anyone noticing for four days, before a tip led to his capture at a transit center in Las Vegas on Wednesday night as he prepared to board a bus out of town. State corrections officials didn’t realize until Tuesday that Duarte-Herrera was not at the medium-security prison where he was serving a life sentence for a deadly 2007 explosion outside a Las Vegas Strip resort.
Las Vegas police said they were informed Wednesday night that a person matching the description of Duarte-Herrera was in the area. Officers took the man into custody, confirmed he was Duarte-Herrera, 42, and arrested him, the department said.
