OPELOUSAS, Louisiana (RTW News) – Authorities are continuing their efforts to capture Keith Eli, the remaining fugitive from a group of three inmates who escaped from the St. Landry Parish jail. Eli, who was serving time for second-degree murder, vanished three days ago after devising a way to slide through a wall.
St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz stated the escape was facilitated by deteriorating conditions in the jail, allowing inmates to detach concrete blocks from the upper section of a wall over time. “We would prefer that he surrender himself peaceably,” the sheriff remarked, emphasizing their relentless pursuit until Eli is found.
One of Eli’s accomplices, Johnathan Jevon Joseph, was apprehended during a chase following a tip, where he fled to a storage shed but was ultimately cornered and caught by police. Tragically, the third escapee, Joseph Allen Harrington, took his own life with a hunting rifle when confronted by law enforcement.
This incident is not isolated; back in May, ten inmates managed to escape from a New Orleans jail through a hole in the wall, leading to a months-long manhunt that eventually concluded with their capture.
The St. Landry Parish jail, about 130 miles northwest of New Orleans, is under scrutiny following this latest breach, as the sheriff's office pledges a thorough investigation into the circumstances that allowed the escape to occur.
