A 19-year-old was arrested nearly seven months after he and two others escaped from MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn. The Oregon State Police arrested Angel R. Diaz-Barrera of Salem on Sept. 4 in Clackamas County, according to the Oregon Youth Authority, which operates the facility. OYA announced that the teen was back in custody by updating its news release about the escape. He escaped in February from the juvenile facility with his brother, Julian R. Diaz-Navarro, 19, of Salem, as well as Xavier A. Swimm 21, of Portland. MacLaren is Oregon’s largest youth correctional facility and houses up to 271 boys and young men.  Swimm was arrested in May in western Idaho, and Diaz-Navarro was arrested six days later at Salem Hospital. Court records show no charges in connection with the escape filed against the teen, but prosecutors are investigating the escape, according to Marion County District Attorney Brendan Murphy. “Like any case, we will carefully review the investigation for any applicable provable charges upon the receipt of any investigatory reports,” Murphy said. Heightened security Oregon Youth Authority spokesman Will Howell declined to explain how the young men escaped. He said the agency wanted to prevent copycat attempts and that a criminal investigation was pending. But several security measures recently added at MacLaren were focused on blocking vehicle access and adding fencing. Immediately after the escape, OYA added a temporary gate and speed bump on the only road connecting state Highway 99 to MacLaren. The agency is currently replacing that gate with a permanent one. It has also extended the fence around the property, added slats to restrict people’s ability to see through the fencing, installed horizontal telephone poles all along the highway to block vehicles, and added additional lighting and cameras along the property. All visitors and staff are now required to verify their reason for being on the campus at the front gate, pass through a metal detector every time they enter the facility and use clear backpacks. OYA also reinforced the exterior windows on two units, including the one from which the young men escaped. “No vehicle will be able to get on to campus without first showing approved identification. Out of an abundance of caution, we have also modified visitation to improve supervision ratios and cut down the number of visitors at any given time,” Howell said in an email. “Finally, knowing that positive, prosocial engagement is also a critical security measure, we increased contracts to extend existing programs at MacLaren.” The facility already had internal security staff, but there is now 24/7 contracted security along the property and entry road.  Howell said OYA also hired a security consultant and intends to identify more improvements for the near future. He said the agency paid for the recent changes by shifting around existing funding, such as money originally set aside to remodel the MacLaren infirmary. New charges After escaping from MacLaren in February, the two Salem brothers were also charged in what authorities described as a gang-related stabbing in July 2021 at Washington Square Mall in Tigard. A Washington County grand jury indicted the pair in June on charges of assault in the first, second and third degrees, robbery in the first and second degrees, and unlawful use of a weapon.  They were 16 at the time of the stabbing, but minors can be prosecuted in adult court if they are charged after turning 18. The stabbing was captured on the mall’s surveillance video and described in court filings by  Washington County prosecutors, who wrote that the brothers are “admitted Norteño gang members.” They described the stabbing victim, a 17-year-old boy, as a Sureño “associate.” The boy was at the mall with his girlfriend when he had a verbal exchange with Diaz-Barrera and Diaz-Navarro. The brothers later reengaged with the victim and called him a “scrap,” a derogatory term for Sureños. They all agreed to fight outside the mall without weapons, according to prosecutors’ motions seeking to keep the suspects detained. After they went outside the mall, prosecutors said Diaz-Barrera pulled out a “souvenir-sized” wooden bat and began hitting the victim over the head and body.  Diaz-Navarro then took out a knife and stabbed the victim in his back.  As the victim laid on the ground, the brothers started kicking him and demanding that he hand over his personal items. The victim suffered a collapsed lung and diaphragm tear.  It would be nearly three years before the brothers faced charges for the stabbing.  Meantime, Diaz-Navarro was committed to OYA in November 2021 after being adjudicated for attempted first-degree assault and carrying or using a dangerous weapon in Marion County.  Diaz-Barrera was adjudicated for first-degree robbery and carrying or using a dangerous weapon in Marion County. He joined his brother at MacLaren in July 2022. Adjudications are the juvenile equivalent of a criminal conviction. The Oregon Youth Authority determines the sentences for teens prosecuted in the juvenile system and can keep them in custody until they turn 25. The teens escaped on Feb. 18. Diaz-Barrara was back at MacLaren as of Oct. 2, while Diaz-Navarro was in Washington County Jail as of Monday. The escape wasn’t the first at MacLaren. In March 2021, three other teenagers assaulted a MacLaren staff member, cut a hole in the facility’s perimeter fence and fled. They were arrested three days later near Lebanon. This past January, an 18-year-old man was arrested for murder while on the run from Camp Riverbend Youth Transitional Facility in La Grande. The OYA facility is intended to prepare teens and young men in custody to transition back into the community. Two other teens are currently on the run after escaping from Camp Tillamook in June. RELATED COVERAGE: Salem teen arrested 3 months after after escaping from MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility Man arrested in Idaho after escaping from MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in February Three teens escape from MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility Sunday night The post Salem teen arrested 7 months after escaping from juvenile facility appeared first on Salem Reporter.