2 inmates still at large after 4 escape from Louisiana jail
Originally Published: 27 MAY 24 13:49 ET
Updated: 28 MAY 24 04:57 ET
By Devon M. Sayers, CNN
(CNN) — A manhunt is still on for two young men who broke out of a Louisiana jail after two other escapees were found hiding in a dumpster behind a Dollar General store, authorities said.
The four inmates, all being held in connection with violent crimes, escaped from the Tangipahoa Parish Jail north of New Orleans, according to a Facebook post from Sheriff Daniel Edwards. Two were taken into custody Monday morning, and authorities are searching for the other two.
Authorities believe two inmates left the facility Saturday afternoon and the other two left Sunday afternoon, Jimmy Travis, chief of operations for the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, said at a Monday news conference.
The sheriff’s office did not learn the inmates had escaped until Sunday afternoon, when a “concerned citizen” contacted the warden and reported two of the escapees had come to a relative’s house looking for a “place to stay,”
Jail administrators then realized a total of four inmates were missing.
“The four inmates were able to escape the perimeter fence of the Parish Jail while participating in their recreation time on the yard,” the sheriff said.
According to the Facebook post, a section of the fence was found in an inspection to be “vulnerable and easily maneuvered” as to allow “a small statured body” to slide through, the social media post said.
The sheriff’s office identified the two inmates still at large as Omarion Hookfin, 19, and Jamarcus Cyprian, 20.“We feel that they’re no longer in Tangipahoa Parish,” Travis said Monday. He added anyone who assisted the escapees in leaving the area would also face charges.
The other two, Avery Guidry, 19, and Travon Johnson, 21, were found hiding in the dumpster Monday morning, the sheriff’s office reported. They were unarmed when found, Travis said.
Hookfin, Guidry and Johnson were charged in connection to a 2022 home invasion that left a man dead and his 12-year-old daughter injured, CNN affiliate WDSU reported. They were awaiting trial.
The fourth escapee, Cyprian, was “serving time for armed robbery and weapon charges,” the sheriff said.
It is “very concerning” authorities did not realize the inmates were missing until someone reached out, Travis said. “If the proper headcounts had been conducted, we would have known about it immediately.”
Travis said “lack of correctional supervision” as well as corroded wire in a perimeter fence made the escapes possible. “We’re short-staffed – it’s no excuse – but we’re short-staffed,” he added. “It’s a failure. We had a failure within.”
The Louisiana State Police told CNN in an email they are “in contact with Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office and assisting where needed.”
The jail is in Amite City in southeastern Louisiana.
The-CNN-Wire
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