Inmate Escapes Minimum-Security Facility At Folsom State Prison

FOLSOM (CBS SF) -- State prison officials are seeking the public's help in finding a minimum-security inmate who escaped from Folsom State Prison.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said Wednesday that inmate Justin Franks, 27, escaped a minimum-support facility at the prison on December 22nd.

Franks was discovered missing during an inmate count that evening, and staff immediately began searching the surrounding areas, according to the CDCR. He was serving a three-year, four month sentence for first degree burglary and was scheduled to be released in June 2019.

Franks is a white male with light complexion, 5-foot-10 inches, 143 pounds with brown eyes and short black hair.

While Folsom State Prison houses about 2,800 medium-security general population inmates, the prison also houses inmates within a minimum-security facility located just outside of the main security perimeter.

Anyone with information about Franks was asked to call Agent Lewis Leflore in the Special Services Unit in Sacramento at (916) 631-0175. Anyone who sees Franks was urged to call 911.

The CDCR says since 1977, 99 percent of all offenders who have left an adult institution, camp, or community-based program without permission have been apprehended.