A Southern California man convicted of killing his mother as a teenager has been apprehended in Mexico, a week after he fled from a halfway house, in violation of his probation. Ike Nicholas Souzer, 20, was arrested on Wednesday in Rosarito, a coastal city, following a weeklong manhunt led by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Mexican authorities. The Orange County District Attorney's Office reported that Souzer is now back in custody in Orange County.

Described by the district attorney's office as an "extremely dangerous and violent criminal," Souzer had previously served his sentence for fatally stabbing his mother in 2017, when he was just 13 years old. After a subsequent conviction on a vandalism charge, Souzer served a brief sentence and was released from custody on March 20th, 2022, with a two-year probation.

This is not the first time Souzer has gone missing from a halfway house. In 2022, he escaped from jail and went to a halfway house in Santa Ana, where he removed his electronic monitoring device and fled. However, he was eventually apprehended by the police. In his most recent escape, Souzer once again cut off his electronic monitoring device, according to CBS Los Angeles.

Souzer's history includes yet another escape from a juvenile detention facility in 2019. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer criticized the judges involved in Souzer's cases, stating that the offender deserved harsher sentences. Spitzer further emphasized, "He did not simply walk away and forget to check in with his probation officer. The second he was out of custody, he set a plan in motion to flee to a foreign country in yet another attempt to escape the consequences of his actions."

Previously convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the death of his mother, Souzer defended himself by claiming self-defense, citing years of abuse he had endured, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Additionally, Souzer faces charges related to attacks on correctional officers, possession of a shank while in jail, and a recent incident involving graffiti on a freeway underpass, as stated by prosecutors.

The arrest of Souzer in Mexico brings him back within the reach of the Orange County justice system. As authorities work to ensure that he remains in custody and faces the consequences of his repeated escapes and criminal actions, the case serves as a reminder of the challenges faced by the judicial system in dealing with violent offenders.