BAKERSFIELD – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are seeking a person who walked away from the Male Community Reentry Program (MCRP) facility in Kern County on Thursday, October 19.
Demetrius Branson, 50, was reported missing after removing his GPS device at a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) location just before 11:00 a.m. CDCR’s Office of Correctional Safety and local law enforcement agencies have been notified and are assisting in the search.
Branson is 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 181 pounds. He has brown eyes and black/gray hair. Branson was last seen wearing black gym shorts, black t-shirt, and a black stocking hat.
He was admitted from Kern County on April 24, 2023, to serve a four-year, eight-month, sentence for corporal injury on specific persons resulting in traumatic condition, grand theft exceeding $950, vehicle theft, and failure to appear.
Anyone who sees Branson or has knowledge of his whereabouts should contact law enforcement or call 9-1-1.
The MCRP allows eligible people committed to state prison to serve the end of their sentences in the re-entry center and provides them the programs and tools necessary to transition from custody to the community. It is a voluntary program for male offenders who have approximately one year left to serve. The program links offenders to a range of community-based rehabilitative services that assist with substance use disorders, mental health care, medical care, employment, education, housing, family reunification and social support.
Since 1977, 99 percent of all people who have left an adult institution, camp, or community-based program without permission have been apprehended.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oct. 19, 2023
Contact: CDCR Press Office OPEC@cdcr.ca.gov
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