Las Vegas police capture escaped inmate after stopping car without license plates
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Metro police arrested an escaped inmate last week after an officer pulled over a driver in a car without license plates, documents said.
Metro police arrested Ronnie Blanch, 48, during the traffic stop, the 8 News Now Investigators confirmed Tuesday.
Just before midnight on Sept. 12, a Metro police officer stopped the car near Las Vegas Boulevard and Four Seasons Drive for driving without a license plate, documents said. The officer activated his siren and lights and the driver took about 30 seconds to stop, police said.
Once stopped, the driver immediately opened his door and threw his keys out of the car, documents said. Police then ordered all of the other occupants out of the car.
Blanch, who police said was a passenger in the car, initially provided the officer with another name, birthday and Social Security number, police said. Blanch also told police he did not have identification on him, but he had never been arrested, officers said.
Police took Blanch, his real identity yet unknown, into custody at that point on a charge of providing false information to a police officer. While on the way to the Clark County Detention Center, Blanch provided his real information, which showed the warrant for his arrest.
Blanch escaped from custody on Sept. 4 from a transitional housing sober living facility, a Department of Corrections spokesperson said. He faced new charges connected to his escape.
Blanch served prison time on drug and forgery charges, records showed. His most recent sentence was for being a habitual offender. The Nevada Parole Board revoked his parole after a January 2023 hearing, records showed. He was not eligible for parole until at least next February.
It was unclear Tuesday why Blanch was transferred from High Desert State Prison to the sober living facility or how long he was living there.
There was no indication Tuesday that NDOC sent a news release about Blanch’s disappearance.
Nevada law requires most vehicles to display both a front and rear license plate.
Last year, Porfirio Duarte-Herrera, 43, who is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, escaped from the Southern Desert Correctional Center, about 40 miles from Las Vegas. Metro police arrested him several days later at a bus station.
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