A homeless man’s life is about to drastically change after California officials voted to give him a $100,000 reward for helping capture two dangerous fugitives in San Francisco earlier this year.
Orange County officials unanimously voted Tuesday to recognize Matthew Hay-Chapman after he spotted Hossein Nayeri, 37, and Jonathan Tieu, 20, outsideof a McDonald’s eight days after they escaped from an Orange County jail.
The 55-year-old, who said he lives in Golden Gate Park, was about to get a cup of coffee from the restaurant on Jan. 30 when a suspicious looking white van caught his eye,ABC 7 reported.It matched one that had been reported as stolen by Nayeri, Tieu and a third fugitive Bac Duong, 43, only days earlier.
Matthew Hay-Chapman, 55, will receive a$100,000 reward after tipping off police to two fugitives in January.“I noticed people were sleeping in there cause the windows were all steamed up cause of heavy, heavy condensation,” he previouslytold the station.“I thought to myself, there are two people in that van cause I used to live in a GMC van many years ago when I had a job.
Then I looked at the plates. No plates.”Hay-Chapman, who said a back injury has left him unable to work, was studyingthe vehicle when he saw Nayeri exit.
Almost immediately he recognized his face from newspapers taken from trashcans.“I studied the man ... because I wanted to be 100 percent sure before I go and alert the authorities,”he told the San Francisco Chronicleof that heart pounding moment in an interview last month.
Not having a phone to call for help, he said he started to hurry on foot toward the nearby police station.
On the way there he spotted a passing police car and flagged it down with his cane.
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