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Homeless man reportedly spied jail escapees and alerted police in San Francisco

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A San Francisco homeless man is being credited with helping catch the two Orange County jail escapees who were arrested Saturday in the Haight Ashbury District.

Matthew Hay-Chapman noticed a van parked in a lot near a Whole Foods Market matching the description of the one they had allegedly stolen, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Chronicle interviewed Hay-Chapman. He said he had just been reading about the case in the newspaper -- and noted that the escapees were supposed to be in a white van. He said he also recognized one of the men.

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Authorities said police were attending to an unrelated medical emergency when a man flagged down officers. The man told them he suspected that a white van parked near the market at Haight and Stanyan streets was “the one wanted in the Orange County jail escape,” said San Francisco police Officer Grace Gatpandan.

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Officers began looking in the immediate area for the man -- later identified as Hossein Nayeri -- and found him near Waller and Stanyan streets, Gatpandan said. Police chased and arrested him after a short pursuit.

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When the officers went back to the van, they found the second suspect, Jonathan Tieu, hiding inside.

Hay-Chapman told the Chronicle he feel he deserves some of the reward offered in the case.

MORE ON THE O.C. JAIL BREAK.

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O.C. Sheriff’s Department examines what went wrong as fugitives return to jail

Orange County jailbreak was an ‘embarrassment,’ sheriff says

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