OYA issues statement on escape of murder suspect from Union County facility

LA GRANDE — The Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) is now commenting on the case of a suspect who escaped from Camp Riverbend and is now facing murder charges in Medford.

18-year-old Jesus Armando Pena Jr. was arrested in the southern Oregon city on January 30, accused of shooting and killing a man in a laundromat.  He was arrested by Medford Police SWAT and is now lodged in the Jackson County Jail.

Pena escaped from OYA custody while at the Camp Riverbend juvenile detention center, located along the Hilgard Highway in Union County, during a community outing in La Grande in December.

According to OYA, Pena was sentenced to juvenile detention in January 2018 after being convicted of Assault 3 in Jackson County, where he now faces murder charges.

Elkhorn Media Group reached out to the OYA on Pena, here’s the agency’s statement: 

OYA extends our sympathies to the victim’s family and the community affected by his death. This is a tragic situation and one no one wants to see happen. Safety is always OYA’s top priority – the safety of the youth in our care and custody, the safety of staff and others who work with them, and the safety of the communities to which these youth return.

The suspect Jesus Pena was in custody at Camp Riverbend, a youth transitional facility. The primary goals of Riverbend are to give youth an opportunity to learn work skills and practice pro-social skills in the community that will help them successfully transition out of corrections. Jesus ran from a community outing in La Grande on December 6, 2023. OYA cooperated with law enforcement in the search for Jesus.

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Elkhorn Media Group