Authorities searching for inmate who 'walked away' from San Quentin prison, possibly carjacked woman

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (KTVU) - Authorities are searching for an inmate who walked away from San Quentin State Prison on Wednesday evening and who may have carjacked a woman shortly after leaving the prison campus, officials said.

Shalom Mendoza was reported missing from California's oldest prison around 9:35 p.m. after an institutional count, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Authorities said Mendoza walked away from the out grounds support facility.

On Thursday morning, San Rafael Police Sgt. Justin Graham issued a press release saying that his detectives are now investigating the likelihood that Mendoza is the same person who stole a woman's silver Toyota RAV4 with the license plate number 6STZ502 as she was in the Home Depot parking lot at 111 Shoreline Parkway at 9:17 p.m. on Wednesday. The parking lot is one mile away from San Quentin.

Mendoza, 21, is a Latino male with short brown hair and brown eyes. He's 5' 5" and weighs 177 pounds. He's serving a five-year sentence for use of a deadly weapon during a carjack/attempt carjack and evading or attempting to evade a peace officer while driving recklessly. He was part of San Quentin's work crew, San Rafael police said.

Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of inmate Mendoza should contact Lt. Samuel Robinson at (415) 455-5000 or their local law enforcement agency.