The man credited with helping San Francisco police capture a pair of Orange County jail escapees over the weekend is an unlikely hero. 
 
 Until recently, 55-year-old Matthew Hay-Chapman was living in the botanical garden of Golden Gate Park — homeless, depressed about a string of family tragedies and unable to work because of severe back pain. 
 
 Still, he managed to stay connected to the world. Every day, he would check out online news sites at the library or find a newspaper and read it front to back in the McDonald’s by the park. 
 
 It was his obsession with current events, along with his keen eye, that led him to spot the fugitives Saturday, hanging out down the block from a police station. As a result, Hay-Chapman is in line to collect $140,000 in reward money. 
 
 “When they told me about the benefits, that didn’t matter,” Chapman said Tuesday in front of the McDonald’s at Haight and Stanyan streets, still proudly wearing the black hoodie that San Francisco police gave him as thanks for his assistance. “I was just doing the right thing.” 
 
 Hay-Chapman had already escaped living in the park, having befriended a man who lets him sleep on his couch. Now he hopes to use the reward money not just to rebuild his own life, but also to help a troubled son, disabled daughter and two young grandchildren who are in foster care in Oregon. 
 
 Life turmoil 
 
 Hay-Chapman hasn’t always been one wrong step from the streets. He was raised on military bases all over the world, one of 10 children of an Air Force colonel. Two of his eight brothers are in law enforcement. 
 
 Before his life fell apart, Hay-Chapman worked as a carpenter, as a heating and air conditioning installer, as a vault locksmith and as a hotel night manager. Then came the back pain, brought on by lifting something in 2000. It got so bad he couldn’t work. 
 
 His daughter, now 33, suffered a brain hemorrhage at birth and is severely disabled. His 30-year-old son lost custody of his two children because of struggles with drug addiction. 
 
 ‘Ups and downs’ 
 
 His family said Hay-Chapman has trouble staying on a steady course, but did not have a drug or alcohol problem. 
 
 “He’s had his ups and downs,” said his brother John Hay-Chapman, “He is a jack of all trades — he is a good mechanic. ... But he can be irresponsible too, and his troubles came when he followed the wrong road.” 
 
 He added, “But here is the thing about Matt: He is sharp, he reads the paper and he is up on everything.” 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Image 1 of 5 Matthew Hay-Chapman enters Golden Gate Park in front of the McDonald's restaurant at Haight and Stanyan streets in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 near the location where two Orange County jail escapees were apprehended after he recognized the fugitives and pointed them out to police last Saturday. less Matthew Hay-Chapman enters Golden Gate Park in front of the McDonald's restaurant at Haight and Stanyan streets in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 near the location where two Orange County jail ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 2 of 5 Matthew Hay-Chapman returns to the McDonald's restaurant at Haight and Stanyan streets in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 to describe how he spotted two of the Orange County jail escapees last Saturday and pointed them out to police, resulting in their capture. less Matthew Hay-Chapman returns to the McDonald's restaurant at Haight and Stanyan streets in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 to describe how he spotted two of the Orange County jail escapees last ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 3 of 5 Matthew Hay-Chapman crosses Stanyan Street in front of the McDonald's restaurant at Haight Street in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 after describing how he recognized two of the Orange County jail escapees last Saturday and pointed them out to police, resulting in their capture. less Matthew Hay-Chapman crosses Stanyan Street in front of the McDonald's restaurant at Haight Street in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 after describing how he recognized two of the Orange County ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 4 of 5 Matthew Hay-Chapman returns to the McDonald's restaurant at Haight and Stanyan streets in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 to describe how he spotted two of the Orange County jail escapees last Saturday and pointed them out to police, resulting in their capture. less Matthew Hay-Chapman returns to the McDonald's restaurant at Haight and Stanyan streets in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 to describe how he spotted two of the Orange County jail escapees last ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 5 of 5 Matthew Hay-Chapman returns to the McDonald's restaurant at Haight and Stanyan streets in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 to describe how he spotted two of the Orange County jail escapees last Saturday and pointed them out to police, resulting in their capture. less Matthew Hay-Chapman returns to the McDonald's restaurant at Haight and Stanyan streets in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 to describe how he spotted two of the Orange County jail escapees last ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Hard-luck hero helped police nab dangerous escapees 1 / 5 Back to Gallery 
 
 Matthew Hay-Chapman and his friend regularly go to the McDonald’s at the entrance of the park — and it was there, on Saturday, that Hay-Chapman was at the right place at the right time. 
 
 He was on his way into the fast-food restaurant when when he spotted a white 2008 GMC Savana van parked at the side of the Whole Foods Market on Haight. It looked like the one he used to drive when he worked as a mechanic — and then lived in when times got hard. 
 
 Recognized van 
 
 Because he’s a news junkie and has what he calls a photographic memory, Hay-Chapman realized that the van matched one that had been linked to three men who had been on the run since they escaped from the Orange County jail Jan. 22. 
 
 “I noticed the windows were all steamed up — real heavy condensation,” Hay-Chapman said. He figured someone was living inside. 
 
 Suddenly, “boom, this guy pops out of the van. I had seen him in the news,” Hay-Chapman said. “I said, ‘That’s the guy — that’s the Iranian escapee!’” 
 
 He followed the man, 37-year-old Hossein Nayeri, into the McDonald’s. Nayeri got in a line that was six people deep, while Hay-Chapman sat down at a table. 
 
 Photo: Associated Press This undated photo provided by the Orange County Sheriff's... 
 
 “I knew I had time,” Hay-Chapman said. “I studied the man ... because I wanted to be 100 percent sure before I go and alert the authorities.” 
 
 Once he was sure, he slipped outside. After a passerby refused to let him use a cell phone, he headed for the nearby Park police station. 
 
 Before he got there, a patrol car with two officers in it happened by. Hay-Chapman flagged them down with his metal cane. 
 
 The officers were about to confront Nayeri when a man on the street suddenly collapsed into the arms of one of them. As the police called for paramedics, Hay-Chapman kept watch for Nayeri, who soon emerged from McDonald’s with a cup of coffee. 
 
 ‘Last taste of freedom’ 
 
 “I call it his last taste of freedom,” Hay-Chapman said. “McDonald’s coffee is worth a lot, and he paid for it.” 
 
 With the officers preoccupied with the man who had collapsed, Nayeri “walked calmly past me, calmly with his coffee,” Hay-Chapman said. He watched as the fugitive walked down the restaurant’s steps and crouched between two parked vehicles. 
 
 “Now he pops up and he starts to walk calmly across Stanyan,” Hay-Chapman said. After a few feet, “he bolts and he runs into the park. Man, the guy was running right toward the police station.” 
 
 The officers fanned out and eventually caught up with Nayeri in front of the station. When they returned to the van, a second fugitive, 20-year-old Jonathan Tieu, was still in it. 
 
 Photo: Associated Press This undated booking photo provided by the Orange County, Calif.,... 
 
 Nayeri, who had been held on aggravated mayhem, kidnapping and torture charges, and Tieu, who was facing gang-related murder and attempted-murder charges, were returned to authorities in Orange County. The third fugitive, Bac Duong, 43, had turned himself in Friday in Santa Ana. 
 
 “Would that every citizen would be paying that much attention,” said Police Chief Greg Suhr, who confirmed Hay-Chapman’s pivotal role in the capture. “God bless him for having courage and for being that observant and that sharp. 
 
 “It is pretty amazing,” Suhr said of Hay-Chapman’s story. “He makes the neighborhood safer.” 
 
 Orange County sheriff’s officials say they will work with agencies that offered separate rewards — including the county Board of Supervisors, U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI — to deliver the money where it belongs. 
 
 Hay-Chapman figures it’s his time. 
 
 “When I was down and out, nobody wanted to help me out,” he said. He hopes that because he was “brave enough to stand up” on Saturday, the money will lead to a better life for him and his family. 
 
 Friend’s point of view 
 
 The friend who finally did help him said Hay-Chapman deserves every penny coming to him. 
 
 “He is really a straight-up guy,” said the friend, who asked that his name not be used. “He is a guy who is into doing good things for people even though he is homeless. 
 
 “He did what he was supposed to do, what people are asked to do. That money would help him straighten his life out.” 
 
 Jaxon Van Derbeken is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jvanderbeken@sfchronicle.com ||||| Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens is all smiles as she answers questions about the capture of both outstanding jail escapees Hossein Nayeri and Jonathan Tieu are in the custody of the San Francisco... (Associated Press) 
 
 Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens is all smiles as she answers questions about the capture of both outstanding jail escapees Hossein Nayeri and Jonathan Tieu are in the custody of the San Francisco... (Associated Press) 
 
 SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Three inmates planned their escape from a California jail for at least six months then abducted a taxi driver and drove to Northern California, where two of the fugitives argued about killing him, authorities said Monday. 
 
 Sheriff's Capt. Jeff Hallock also said the inmates were picked up by an accomplice shortly after they escaped on Jan. 22 from Central Men's Jail in Orange County. 
 
 Later that day, inmate Hossein Nayeri held a gun on a taxi driver, who spent two nights with the fugitives in Southern California before they stole a van and drove north, Hallock said. 
 
 Nayeri and inmate Bac Duong then had a physical fight in an Alameda hotel room over whether to kill the taxi driver, he said. Sheriff's officials believe Nayeri is the one who wanted to kill the driver, Hallock said. 
 
 Duong and the taxi driver returned the next day to Santa Ana, where Duong later surrendered. 
 
 Earlier Monday, prosecutors said a teacher who was arrested in connection with the escape would be released due to insufficient evidence to charge her with any crime. 
 
 Prosecutors have requested that the county Sheriff's Department conduct further investigation of Nooshafarin Ravaghi, 44, who teaches English as a second language to jail inmates, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said. 
 
 Sheriff Sandra Hutchens later told reporters that investigators still believe Ravaghi was involved. 
 
 Rackauckas also announced the arrest of Lac Ba Nguyen on suspicion of sending into prison an article useful for an escape. Prosecutors didn't elaborate on the article or say how it might have been used. 
 
 Nguyen provided the inmates with "things that facilitated the escape" and picked them up shortly after they escaped, Hallock said. 
 
 Nayeri, 37, Duong, 43, and Jonathan Tieu, 20, escaped Central Men's Jail. Duong turned himself in Friday and the other two were arrested in San Francisco on Saturday. 
 
 The Sheriff's Department had initially said Ravaghi and Nayeri, who was in her class, had exchanged letters of a personal nature. Rackauckas said Monday that the letters appear to have been written by Nayeri, not Ravaghi. 
 
 The district attorney said Ravaghi was continuing to cooperate and that steps were being taken to ensure she remains in the jurisdiction after her release. 
 
 Nguyen is due in court Feb. 22. It's not immediately known if he has an attorney. 
 
 With all three inmates back in custody, authorities were examining how they carried out the jailbreak and what they did during their week on the run. 
 
 The sheriff vowed over the weekend to fix the security lapses that allowed the escape. 
 
 The men sawed, crawled and climbed their way out of the maximum-security jail and used a rope made of bedsheets to rappel four stories to the ground. 
 
 The trio then spent several days in Rosemead, a Los Angeles suburb, where they held the cab driver at gunpoint, Hallock said. 
 
 The three then drove to Northern California in a stolen van and the taxi, taking the cabbie with them, he said. 
 
 Duong surrendered on Friday at an auto repair shop in Santa Ana just a few miles from the jail. After dropping Duong off, the cabbie immediately reported what had happened. 
 
 Nayeri and Tieu were arrested Saturday after a civilian flagged down officers near San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and pointed out a parked van that looked like one believed stolen by the inmates after the escape. 
 
 The three inmates did not know each other before being housed in the Orange County jail. They were awaiting trial on charges involving violent crimes. 
 
 Duong and Tieu have ties to gangs that operate in the shadows of Orange County's thriving Vietnamese community. 
 
 While behind bars, the three were housed together in a large jail module that held 65 other men, about half of whom were in custody for violent felonies. 
 
 Ravaghi had been booked on suspicion of being an accessory to a felony. The Sheriff's Department had said she provided Nayeri a paper copy of a Google Earth map that showed an aerial view of the entire jail compound. 
 
 Nayeri is a former Marine who grew up in the Fresno area, and authorities say it's unclear why as an English speaker he was in her class that teaches English as a second language. 
 
 Built in 1968, the jail that housed the men holds about 900 inmates. It was the first breakout from the facility in nearly 30 years.
– A homeless San Francisco man who calls himself a "news junkie" might be able to get off the streets because of his news habit: He will receive the lion's share of a $150,000 reward for helping recapture two escaped inmates in January, the Los Angeles Times reports. Matthew Hay-Chapman recognized the inmates' stolen van in a Whole Foods parking lot on Jan. 28 and spotted fugitive Hossein Nayeri emerging from the vehicle. He says he found a police officer and led him to the van, leading to the capture of Nayeri and fellow escapee Jonathan Tieu. A third man had surrendered a day earlier. Hay-Chapman, 55, was living in Golden Gate Park at the time of the arrests but says he still kept track of the news every day by going online or reading newspapers, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The Orange County Board of Supervisors decided to award him $100,000 of the $150,000 cash reward for the inmates' recapture, with $20,000 going to the owner of the stolen van, and two employees who spotted the escapees acting suspiciously at a Target store receiving $15,000 each. A cab driver kidnapped and almost murdered by the escapees, however, won't get a share of the reward money because the supervisors decided that he had not provided information that led to the men's recapture.