One of the two inmates accused of violent crimes who remained on the run after escaping from a southwestern Louisiana jail earlier this week has been taken into custody, according to CBS affiliate KLFY. A third inmate who joined the breakout died by suicide after being caught by police, officials said.
KLFY reported that Jonathan Joseph, 24, was taken into custody without incident. Joseph is facing several charges, including principal to first-degree rape. He was arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting earlier this week, KLFY said.
Joseph Harrington, 26, faced several felony charges, including home invasion. He was recognized by a tipster while pushing a black e-bike on Thursday. Police found the e-bike at a neighboring home and heard a gunshot while trying to coax him to leave the building. He had shot himself with a hunting rifle, Port Barre Police Chief Deon Boudreaux said by telephone to The Associated Press.
Keith Eli, 24, remains at large. He faces an attempted second-degree murder charge. Anyone who spots Eli should call 911 or the sheriff’s office immediately, KLFY reported, and not approach him.
The three men escaped the St. Landry Parish Jail early Wednesday after discovering “a degrading part of an upper wall area and over time, removed the mortar allowing them to remove concrete blocks and provide their exit,” Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz said in a statement.
Authorities said the inmates then used sheets and other materials to scale the exterior wall, climb onto a first-floor roof and lower themselves to the ground, Guidroz said.
Additional details about the escape were not immediately available. Guidroz said it will be investigated internally. Sheriff’s department spokesperson Maj. Mark LeBlanc warned residents to secure their homes and vehicles, and said anyone who aided the escapees would be prosecuted.
LeBlanc wasn’t aware of the building being breached similarly 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.
It was the latest bold jail escape in Louisiana. 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 — following the discovery of the escape crime scene with a message that read “To Easy LoL,” finger-pointing by officials as to who was to blame for the audacious escape, and a search that spanned multiple states — that all 10 inmates were recaptured.
