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Parolee-at-large caught napping
Brian Ortega.jpg
Brian Ortega

A man who went off the grid with his parole officer after a conviction for committing a home invasion robbery was found sleeping behind the former Kmart store building early Friday and arrested.

Brian Ortega, 41, of Modesto, was spotted by Officer Nicolas Welsh lying on the ground behind the empty building on Hatch Road. When Welsh stopped at 1:42 a.m. to ask if he was hurt and Ortega replied that he was sleeping. When Ortega was found to be a parolee at large he was arrested and taken to the Public Safety Center.