Two inmates charged with violent crimes including attempted murder have escaped after escaping from prison. Louisiana at the prison by removing pieces of a destroyed wall and using the sheets to climb over another wall, officials said.
The third prisoner involved in the escape committed suicide after being tracked down.
It was the latest daring prison escape in Louisiana, where 10 inmates escaped from a New Orleans prison earlier this year by crawling through a hole behind a toilet. And only five months later – after the discovery of the escape site with the message “To Easy LoL” and a search spanning several states – all 10 prisoners were released.
Three inmates were involved in the Wednesday morning escape at the St. Landry Parish Prison in the state's southwest corner. Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz, who oversees the jail in Opelousas, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans, said “the inmates discovered the crumbling portion of the top of the wall and eventually removed the mortar, allowing them to remove the concrete blocks and secure their way out.”
The inmates then used “sheets and other objects” to climb over the outside wall and “jump” onto the first-floor roof before rappelling to the ground, Guidroz said.
Additional information about the escape was not immediately available. Guidroz said there would be an internal investigation into the matter.
The sheriff's office has identified the two escaped inmates still at large as Keith Ely, 24, of Opelousas, who is charged with attempted second-degree murder, and Jonathan Jevon Joseph, 24, of Opelousas, who faces multiple charges, including first-degree rape.
The third fugitive, Joseph Allen Harrington, 26, of Melville, who faces several felony charges including home invasion, killed himself after he was found, Port Barre Police Chief Deon Boudreau said. After an informant who recognized Harrington told police Thursday that he was seen pushing a black e-bike, an officer spotted the bike at a nearby home. Police used a loudspeaker to convince Harrington to come out and later heard a gunshot. Harrington was found dead in the home. According to Boudreaux, he shot himself with a hunting rifle.
Sheriff's Department spokesman Maj. Mark LeBlanc was not aware of similar break-ins in the past, but noted that anyone would try to escape given enough time and opportunity.
“These three were a little more creative than in years past,” he said.
There were no credible signs that the fugitives had left the parish, so LeBlanc warned residents to secure their homes and vehicles.
“They are accused of violent crimes and we know they are desperate to escape.”
