‘Most Wanted’ Felon Caught in West Covina

A dangerous prison escapee from Massachusetts, who was recently featured on the television show “America’s Most Wanted,” was captured early Saturday in a West Covina hotel by police and the FBI.

Christopher Rambert, 23, was arrested without incident as he slept at the Comfort Inn on Garvey Avenue, said FBI spokesman Jim Neilson. The fugitive was with a woman, who was later released. A loaded semiautomatic pistol was found in his room, Neilson said.

Rambert, who was serving a life sentence for rapes and other crimes, escaped Oct. 1 from the Bridgewater Treatment Center for violent sexual criminals in Massachusetts. Two other inmates who escaped along with him have been captured.

The FBI and the West Covina police were informed that the fugitive was in the area by Massachusetts officials who said that Rambert had been seen driving a stolen pickup truck with Georgia license plates. Officials were unable to say whether the tip came as a result of the national exposure the case received last month on television.

Deodato Arruda, spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Correction, said that it was possible a phone call came from a viewer.

Rambert, who received a life sentence as a juvenile, was considered “one of the most violent criminals in the state,” Arruda said. “He has been in and out of prison all his life.”