Opelousas, Louisiana – Two inmates charged with violent crimes, including attempted second-degree murder, are on the run after escaping from a southwest Louisiana prison Wednesday by removing portions of a degrading wall and using flaps to climb the wall, officials said. A third inmate who joined the hacking operation committed suicide after being tracked.
It was the latest daring prison break in Louisiana. Earlier this year 10 inmates escaped from a New Orleans prison After crawling through a hole behind the toilet. It wasn’t until five months later — after the discovery of a crime scene of an escape with a message that read “To Easy LoL,” finger-pointing by officials as to who was to blame for the daring escape and a search that spanned multiple states — that All ten prisoners were arrested.
The Wednesday morning escape, which occurred at the St. Landry Parish Jail, involved three inmates. “The inmates discovered a degrading portion of the upper wall area and, over time, removed the mortar allowing them to remove the concrete blocks and provide an exit,” said Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz, who oversees the prison in Opelousas, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans.
The inmates then used “sheets and other objects” to climb the outer wall and “fall onto” the first-floor roof, before “lowering themselves to the ground,” Guidroz said in a news release.
Additional details about the escape were not immediately available. Guidroz said the matter will be investigated internally.
The Sheriff’s Office identified the two escaped inmates still at large as Keith Ely, 24, of Opelousas, who was facing a second-degree attempted murder charge, and Jonathan Jevon Joseph, 24, of Opelousas, who was facing multiple charges, including a first-degree rape charge.
The third fugitive, Joseph Allen Harrington, 26, of Melville, who faced multiple felony charges, including home invasion, committed suicide after he was found, Port Barre Police Chief Dion Boudreaux said by phone.
After a tipster who recognized Harrington told police Thursday that he was seen pushing a black e-bike, an officer discovered the e-bike at a nearby home. Police used a loudspeaker to urge Harrington to leave the house, and later heard the sound of gunfire. Harrington was found dead inside the home. Boudreau said he shot himself with a hunting rifle.
Sheriff’s Department spokesman Major Mark LeBlanc was not aware the building had been breached in a similar manner in the past, but noted that anyone would try to escape given enough time and opportunity.
“Those three were a little more creative than they have been in years past,” he said.
There are no reliable indications that the fugitives have left the parish, so LeBlanc warned residents to secure their homes and cars.
“They are accused of violent crimes and we know they are desperate to escape,” he said.
He added that anyone who helps the fugitives will be prosecuted.