Three inmates broke out of a Louisiana parish jail by prying apart weakened concrete blocks and navigating their way over an exterior wall using improvised rope made from bedsheets.
Local law enforcement is has ramped up patrols, door-to-door warnings, and a round-the-clock manhunt led by sheriff’s deputies and SWAT personnel.
Detectives began tracking 24-year-old Keith Eli on Saturday, three days after he and two other inmates made their way out of the St. Landry Parish Jail in Opelousas.
Sheriff’s officials said Eli remained the only fugitive still unaccounted for, noting that he had been held on a second-degree murder charge at the time of the escape.
Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz urged Eli to give up, stating, “We would prefer that he surrender himself peaceably, but we will not rest until he is captured.”
He added that law enforcement teams had pursued multiple tips and continued to sweep the area where authorities believe Eli may be hiding.
Major Mark LeBlanc, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said the escape appeared to have taken shape over a period of time.
Investigators believe the three inmates located a section of the jail’s upper wall where the structure had eroded enough to loosen mortar.
Authorities said the men were able to pull out concrete blocks, creating an opening large enough to crawl through before they maneuvered across a second barrier using sheets and other fabric items tied together.
LeBlanc said he was not aware of any similar breach in recent years but noted that inmates will attempt “anything” if they believe an opportunity exists.
“These three were just a little more creative than in years past,” he said.
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The first of the three escapees to be located was 26-year-old Joseph Allen Harrington, who had been awaiting trial on multiple felony charges, including home invasion.
According to Port Barre Police Chief Deon Boudreaux, Harrington was found at a residence the day after the escape.
Officers attempted to convince him to come outside, using a loudspeaker to urge him to surrender. Instead, officials said Harrington took his own life with a hunting rifle.
The other captured inmate, 24-year-old Johnathan Jevon Joseph, had been jailed on allegations including rape.
LeBlanc said deputies found him hiding at a home on Friday after receiving a tip from the public.
Joseph fled to a nearby storage shed, but surrendered once officers cornered him.
In the aftermath of the jailbreak, residents in the area were asked to secure their homes and vehicles as a precaution.
LeBlanc cautioned that Eli should be considered dangerous, noting, “They’re charged with violent felonies and we know they’re desperate to get away.”
He added that anyone caught assisting the escapees could face prosecution.
Sheriff Guidroz also announced an internal review of the jail’s security failures, directing supervisors to compile a comprehensive account of the breach.
His comments prompted swift rebuke from parish leadership, including Parish President Jessie Bellard, who dismissed descriptions of crumbling walls and deteriorating locks as inaccurate.
“Our jail is safe. It’s sturdy. Our engineers gave it a clean bill of health when they inspected it last year,” he remarked.
Bellard publicly challenged the sheriff to provide documentation supporting his statements.
As the Louisiana search intensified, officers in Georgia were dealing with a similarly urgent manhunt of their own.
An inmate who fled from Grady Hospital in Atlanta last week morning was back in custody after a Newton County homeowner spoke to him through her doorbell camera during the night before his rearrest.
Authorities said the escaped inmate, identified as Timothy Shane, had originally been held at the Rockdale County Jail.
According to Sheriff Eric Levett, Shane had been transported to Grady Hospital on Sunday night after deputies reported that he attempted to take his own life.
Levett said he now believes Shane may have staged the incident as a diversion to set up his escape.
The sheriff explained that Shane was shackled during transport, and detectives are still working to determine how he managed to break free from a deputy while undergoing medical testing around 1 a.m.
Monday. Investigators said the inmate slipped away from custody and then stole two vehicles while on the run, causing at least one collision.
Deputies also reported that a handgun was missing from one of the vehicles Shane allegedly stole.
The deputy assigned to guard Shane at the hospital has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
Police dispatch logs show a series of sightings and near-interactions throughout Tuesday and early Wednesday.
Officers were first called to Pennington Street around 6 p.m. Tuesday after a witness reported seeing someone resembling Shane walking while wearing a gray hoodie. Officers canvassed the neighborhood, but no suspect was found.
Just after 1 a.m. Wednesday, a resident on Green Acres Court contacted authorities to report that a man, later confirmed to be Shane, knocked on her door and then fled.
Her doorbell camera provided investigators with clear footage of the suspect’s clothing.
Roughly an hour later, Shane appeared outside the home of Audrey Flournoy, who spoke to him using her doorbell system.
In the recording, Shane can be heard claiming, “Hey… I’ve been out in the woods hunting, ending up getting lost for like five hours.”
Flournoy, startled, declined to open the door. “No, I’m not opening the door. No, no sir,” she replied through the speaker.
Shane continued asking for help, telling her, “Is there any way I can pay you for something to drink, I just need to make a phone call, I got money.” Flournoy told him firmly to leave.
He then made another request: “Can I get a drink out of your water hose?” Flournoy said she refused again, recalling later, “I’m answering, telling him, ‘We don’t want nothing to do with you sir, you just go ahead.’”
After a brief exchange, Shane walked away. However, Flournoy said she contacted police after he returned a second time.
Officers later discovered that Shane had been hiding in an abandoned house behind her property. Deputies believe he climbed inside through a broken window.
He was eventually taken back into custody. Police officials said the search had been complicated by Shane’s movements through residential areas and wooded terrain, noting that tracking dogs had been brought in as part of the search effort.
Shane is now held once again at the Rockdale County Jail, while internal reviews continue into both the escape and the handling of his hospital transport.
