Minimum-security inmate walks away from work crew

SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office has obtained an arrest warrant for a minimum-security jail inmate who walked away from a work crew Monday morning.

Michael Brandon Gentuso, 38, of Santa Rosa, was last seen at 7:45 a.m. in the area of West Steele Lane and Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa, where he discarded his denim North County Detention Facility uniform, sheriff's Sgt. Cecile Focha said.

Gentuso is a white man who is 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighs 170 pounds and has short brown hair and hazel eyes. Santa Rosa police and sheriff's deputies searched the area for Gentuso near U.S. Highway 101 and the Coddingtown Mall.

Gentuso was booked into jail on Dec. 23 and was convicted of possession of a controlled substance on last Wednesday. He was serving a 90-day sentence and was scheduled to be released on April 3, Focha said.

Walking away from a work crew is considered an escape from custody and is considered a felony, Focha said.