Louisiana jailbreak sparks manhunt and raises safety concerns

Authorities in Louisiana are searching for the last of three inmates who staged a dramatic escape from the St. Landry Parish Jail.

(CNN)- Authorities in Louisiana are searching for the last of three inmates who staged a dramatic escape from the St. Landry Parish Jail, breaking through a deteriorating wall and using bedsheets to lower themselves to the ground.

The inmates — Johnathan Jevon Joseph, Joseph Allen Harrington, and 24-year-old Keith Eli — escaped Wednesday. Joseph was captured Friday. Harrington, who was facing several felony charges including home invasion, died by suicide after police say he shot himself inside a home where he had been hiding.

Eli, who was being held on a charge of attempted second-degree murder, remains at large.

The escape has renewed scrutiny over the jail’s condition. St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said in an interview with KADN News: “This jail is 45 years old. We’re overcrowded and it needs a lot of maintenance.”

But Parish President Jessie Bellard disagreed, saying: “Our jail is safe. It’s sturdy. Our engineers gave it a clean bill of health when they inspected it last year.”

This marks the second major jailbreak in Louisiana this year. In May, 10 inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail using electric hair trimmers with multiple clipper blades to cut through cell walls. All were eventually recaptured.