Las Vegas police capture escaped Nevada prisoner after traffic stop

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - A man who told police during a traffic stop Sept. 12 he had never been arrested turned out to be an escaped prisoner, according to authorities.

Ronnie Blanch, 48, is accused of being an escaped prisoner, a felony. Previous convictions since 2005 include attempted grand larceny, possession of a controlled substance, forgery, possession of a stolen credit card, being a habitual criminal, and possession of a financial forgery lab.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department report alleges on Sept. 12 officers conducted a traffic stop on a driver later identified as Blanch at about 12:30 a.m.

Police noticed the car had no license plates. When pulled over, Blanch opened the driver’s side door, threw the keys onto the hood of the car, and put his hands outside.

Blanch told police he had no ID and gave them a false name and that “he had never been arrested.”

However, the information officers were given turned up a different person who had several prior arrests.

A second try fared no better, and on the way to jail Blanch told police his real name and that he had an outstanding warrant out of the Nevada Department of Corrections.

NDOC confirmed that Blanch was a resident of Freedom House Sober Living, and in-house drug treatment program in Las Vegas. Blanch was last signed out at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 4 and didn’t return, NDOC said. NDOC said additional charges were pending.

NDOC added they were notified Sept. 5 and issued a re-take warrant immediately.

“This offender would not be considered an escapee, as he was not in a secure institution. He is a walk away. Typically, the NDOC will alert the media when an offender walks away from a conservation camp (with no secured perimeter) or from a secure facility, i.e. prison. When an offender is housed in transitional housing, under house arrest or placed in a halfway house or drug treatment program, they are at the end of their sentence and integrated into the community,” a spokesperson explained.

For instance, they usually leave daily for work or job training and have little supervision. When an offender does not check in at the housing location, NDOC will alert law enforcement and update the website.

A future court date was not found for Blanch as of Tuesday.

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