Two inmates accused of violent crimes including attempted murder went on the run after escaping from a Louisiana jail by removing pieces of a deteriorated wall and using sheets to scale another wall, officials said.
A third inmate from the breakout killed himself after he was tracked down.
It was the latest bold jail escape in Louisiana, where earlier this year 10 inmates broke out of a New Orleans jail after crawling through a hole behind a toilet. It wasn’t until five months later – after the discovery of the escape crime scene with a message that read “To Easy LoL” and a search spanning multiple states – that all 10 inmates were recaptured.
Wednesday morning’s escape, which took place at the St Landry parish jail in the state’s south-west, involved three inmates. Sheriff Bobby J Guidroz, who oversees the jail in Opelousas, about 130 miles (209km) north-west of New Orleans, said the “inmates discovered a degrading part of an upper wall area and over time removed the mortar allowing them to remove concrete blocks and provide their exit”.
The inmates then used “sheets and other items” to scale the outer wall and “drop on to” the first floor roof before lowering themselves to the ground, Guidroz said.
Additional details about the escape were not immediately available. Guidroz said it would be investigated internally.
The sheriff’s office identified the two escaped inmates still on the loose as Keith Eli, 24, of Opelousas, who was facing a second-degree attempted murder charge, and Johnathan Jevon Joseph, 24, of Opelousas, who was facing several charges including principal to first-degree rape.
The third escapee, Joseph Allen Harrington, 26, of Melville, who faced several felony charges, including home invasion, killed himself after he was found, Port Barre police chief Deon Boudreaux said. After a tipster who recognised Harrington told police on Thursday that he was seen pushing a black e-bike, an officer spotted the bike at a nearby home. Police used a loudspeaker to urge Harrington to come out and later heard a gunshot. Harrington was found dead inside the home. He had shot himself with a hunting rifle, Boudreaux said.
A sheriff’s department spokesperson, Maj Mark LeBlanc, was not aware of the building being breached in a similar way in the past but noted that anyone would try to escape with enough time and opportunity.
“These three were just a little more creative than in years past,” he said.
There was no credible indications that the escapees had left the parish so LeBlanc warned residents to secure their homes and vehicles.
“They’re charged with violent felonies and we know they’re desperate to get away.”
