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Fox News
27-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
Man escapes Louisiana jail for 2nd time as separate manhunt for New Orleans inmates continues
Amid the ongoing manhunt for five escaped Orleans Parish Correctional Facility inmates, a repeat escapee broke out of another jail in a nearby Louisiana parish. The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office (TPSO) said that Tra'Von Johnson, 19, had escaped from the jail on Thursday afternoon when another inmate helped lift him over the perimeter fence. Johnson, who is awaiting trial in connection with a deadly 2022 home invasion, also escaped from the same jail in May of last year, according to a TPSO Facebook post. He was recaptured Friday just a few miles away from the jail, according to the sheriff's office. Tangipahoa Parish is about 80 miles from Orleans Parish, where 10 inmates escaped from jail on May 16, sparking a manhunt by 200 state, local and federal law enforcement agents. That manhunt is still underway. The sheriff's office said that Johnson escaped at 4:30 p.m. Thursday and that it did not learn of the escape until about 10 p.m. It became aware of the escape only after receiving "a call from the public questioning whether Johnson was still in custody." "TPSO engaged its partner law enforcement agencies to assist with not only locating Johnson, but also alerting victims and communicating with Johnson's relatives and known associates," the sheriff's office said in the Facebook post. "At the same time, jail staff confirmed Johnson was the only inmate missing and the investigation into the escape, from beginning to end, began." Johnson and two others allegedly involved in the home invasion, along with a fourth person, escaped from the jail on May 26, 2024 after breaching a "vulnerable section of the perimeter fence," Fox 8 reported at the time. While authorities search for Johnson, they also continue to search for two inmates, including a four-time convicted killer, who escaped New Orleans' primary jail on May 16. Ten men are accused of removing a toilet from their cell in the Orleans Parish Correctional Facility, cutting a hole in the wall and running through an unoccupied corridor, eventually hopping the jail's fence to freedom. In that case, too, jail authorities were unaware of the escape until about several hours after it occurred, sparking questions about the competency of law enforcement officials, including Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office (OPSO) Sheriff Susan Hutson. On Thursday, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams blasted Hutson, whom he said neglected to order a complete investigation into the prison cell crime scene. "Time is also of the essence when trying to get good DNA samples or collect fingerprints to make sure those areas are not molested or destroyed in any way," he said during a news conference. "So I am deeply concerned that there was not an immediate request by the sheriff to our local crime lab to get in there and examine, document, preserve and collect all of the forensic evidence that was available there so that we could already have it tested." So far, 13 people have been arrested for allegedly aiding the 10 escapees, including 33-year-old Sterling Williams, the OPSO employee who served as a maintenance worker in the jail. He was charged with 10 counts of principal to simple escape and one count of malfeasance in office and is being held on $1.1 million bond. An inmate inside the jail, 23-year-old Trevon Williams, has been rebooked on 10 counts of principal to simple escape for allegedly giving the escapees a blanket and shirt to help them hop the razor-wire fence during their escape. While Sterlin and Trevon Williams are accused of helping from the inside, several others are accused of helping the escapees after they broke out. Over the weekend, 28-year-old Lenika Vanburen, 18-year-old Patricia Vanburen, 27-year-old Tyshanea "Minnie" Randolph, 47-year-old Lenton Vanburen Sr. and 40-year-old Angel McKey were arrested for allegedly aiding escapee Lenton Vanburen. Vanburen Sr. is Vanburen's father, a source confirmed to Fox News. Emmitt Weber, 28, was also arrested for helping two of the inmates after the escape. So was Casey Smith, 30, who reportedly admitted to driving some of the inmates around New Orleans after they escaped. Last week, two women, Cortnie Harris, 32, and Corvanntay Baptiste, 38, were also arrested for assisting the fugitives. They are also being held at the Plaquemines County Jail. Harris is being held on a $2.5 million bond, and Baptiste on a $1 million bond. Harris is accused of transporting some of the escapees to locations throughout New Orleans after the escape, and Baptiste is accused of being in contact with escapee Corey Boyd and bringing him food after the escape. Sources close to the investigation told Fox News that Baptiste is the girlfriend of now-recaptured Boyd, who is accused of second-degree murder, and Harris is the girlfriend of Leo Tate, who is still on the run. On Thursday night, the Louisiana State Police announced that it had arrested Connie Weeden, 59, who allegedly sent cash to fugitive Jermaine Donald via a cellphone app. She was charged with one felony count of accessory after the fact and booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center. After a volley of arrests Monday, three more of the escaped inmates are back in custody. Vanburen was arrested in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and will face new charges related to his escape, along with prior charges of parole violation, possession of firearm by felon, and illegal carrying of a weapon. Fellow jail breakers Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald were arrested in Walker County, Texas, by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Louisiana State Police said the duo led Texas police on a high-speed chase before they were taken into custody. The following five inmates remain on the run: Fox News Digital reached out to the Louisiana State Police and Attorney General Liz Murrill's office.
Washington Post
24-05-2025
- Washington Post
A Louisiana inmate escaped. Jailers didn't know until a tipster called.
For almost six hours, officers at a Louisiana jail were unaware that an inmate with a history of jailbreaks had escaped Thursday afternoon. Tangipahoa Parish Jail officials were alerted to Tra'Von Johnson's disappearance when an anonymous tipster called authorities around 10 p.m. and 'basically inferred that we might need to check his whereabouts,' Sheriff Gerald Sticker said at a news conference Friday. The 22-year-old, who is awaiting trial for his alleged role in a fatal home invasion three years ago, had previously escaped from the same facility last May after sliding through a perimeter fence during recreation time.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Louisiana inmate recaptured a day after tipster alerted authorities of his escape
A Louisiana inmate who authorities began searching for after receiving a public tip was recaptured on Friday, according to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office. Tra'Von Johnson, 22, was found on Bennett Road in Amite City, just a few miles away from the Tangipahoa Parish Jail that he escaped from on Thursday afternoon, the sheriff's office said in an update Friday evening. This was his second escape from the jail, according to the sheriff's office, who said he broke out of the facility "a year ago this month." "TPSO wants to thank, first and foremost, the community for standing with us in this effort," the sheriff's office said, adding that Louisiana State Police made the arrest. The sheriff's office shared a video of Johnson being taken back into custody and placed into a Louisiana State Police helicopter. Prior to his escape, Johnson was awaiting trial in Tangipahoa Parish Jail for his alleged role in a 2022 Hammond-area home invasion where a man was killed and his child was injured, according to the sheriff's office. He's since been charged with simple escape. Johnson has been taken to Angola, Louisiana since he was recaptured, where he will await trial, the sheriff's office said. The sheriff's office did not clarify if Johnson will be held at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. Johnson and another inmate, Trevon Wallace, were able to escape the jail after an inmate in their dorm flooded a shower at around 4:15 p.m. "During the clean-up, while several sections of exterior doors were open to push water out, an interior door was inadvertently opened less than a minute before the error was realized and it was closed again," the sheriff's office said. "In those few seconds, Johnson and Wallace ran out of all of the doors to the yard." The sheriff's office released surveillance video of Wallace and Johnson running out to the yard before Wallace gives Johnson a boost over a perimeter fence. Wallace ran back to the jail building afterwards, where he was intercepted by deputies who took him back to his cell. The deputies did not report the incident with the door, or Wallace's interception, to superiors, and failed to do a proper headcount after finding him, the sheriff's office said. Just before 10 p.m., the sheriff's office received a call from a member of the public who asked if Johnson was still in custody. The person did not identify themselves, Sheriff Gerald Sticker said at a news briefing Friday afternoon. The realization of Johnson's escape prompted a lockdown at the jail and a search that lasted until around 3 a.m. Friday morning, according to Sticker. Johnson was eventually found Friday evening. "At this time, it is not believed this was a planned escape, but rather, an opportunistic one that was compounded by a failure of jail staff to follow protocols put in place as preventative measures for escapes," the sheriff's office said. "However, the current investigation into this incident does include looking into the person who called the jail and the inmate who caused the flooding to begin with." Wallace has since been charged with simple escape and principal to help someone escape, according to Sticker. Four members of the jail's staff were placed on administrative leave, he said. According to the sheriff's office, the jail "is only able to staff one individual tasked with monitoring 60 cameras all at once while also opening doors as requested by deputies in and around the pods and dorms." Sticker said the sheriff's office has been working to address deficiencies at the jail, but it is 'still a work in progress.' This article was originally published on
CBS News
23-05-2025
- CBS News
Manhunt underway for inmate who escaped Louisiana jail a second time
Authorities are searching for a Louisiana inmate who escaped from a parish jail Thursday night, a feat he also accomplished nearly a year ago. Tra'Von Johnson, 22, made his latest escape from the Tangipahoa Parish Jail, which has a history of jailbreaks involving a half dozen inmates in recent years, the sheriff's office announced. Johnson had been awaiting a trial for his alleged role in a home invasion that left a man killed and a child injured, authorities said. Authorities said they became suspicious when a member of the public called the sheriff's office shortly before 10 p.m. on Thursday, questioning whether Johnson was still in custody. There was an incident at a dorm in the jail where inmates flooded a cell, Sheriff Gerald Sticker said during a news briefing Friday. While a crew was cleaning the dorm, Johnson and another inmate, Trevon Wallace, opened the back door to the jail that leads into the yard, Sticker said. Wallace did not escape and was escorted back inside. "Following an immediate head count of the jail population and a review of Johnson's movements throughout the day, it was determined Johnson escaped around 4:30 p.m. when another inmate helped lift him over the perimeter fence," the sheriff's office said in a statement. Sticker said at least four individuals were placed on administrative leave pending a full review. Law officers are now searching for Johnson and also contacting victims and reaching out to Johnson's relatives and associates, the sheriff's office said. In May 2024, Johnson was among a group of four inmates who escaped from the jail over the Memorial Day weekend by breaking through the jail's perimeter fence during recreation time in the yard. Johnson and another inmate were found hiding in a dumpster behind a Dollar General store. Manpower shortages, inadequate staff training and experience, a lack of supervision and insufficient head counts contributed to the escape last year, authorities said at the time. Tangipahoa Parish's jail in Amite is about 75 miles northwest of New Orleans. Johnson's escape comes as authorities continue to search for five of the 10 inmates who escaped from a jail in New Orleans on May 16. The escape from the Orleans Parish Justice Center, part of which was captured on surveillance video, showed the inmates removing a jail cell door off its track and breaching a wall behind the toilet of a cell.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- The Independent
Inmate manages to escape from a Louisiana jail for the second time in a year
A Louisiana jail inmate who escaped from a parish jail about a year ago has accomplished the same feat again, authorities said. Tra'Von Johnson, 19, made his latest escape Thursday from the Tangipahoa Parish Jail, which has a history of jailbreaks involving a half-dozen inmates in recent years, the sheriff's office announced. Johnson had been awaiting a trial for his alleged role in a home invasion that left a man killed and a child injured, authorities said. Authorities say they became suspicious when a member of the public called the sheriff's office shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday, questioning whether Johnson was still in custody. 'Following an immediate headcount of the jail population and a review of Johnson's movements throughout the day, it was determined Johnson escaped around 4:30 p.m. when another inmate helped lift him over the perimeter fence,' the sheriff's office said in a statement. Law officers are now searching for Johnson and also contacting victims and reaching out to Johnson's relatives and associates, the sheriff's office said. In the summer of 2024, Johnson was among a group of four inmates who escaped from the jail over the Memorial Day weekend by crawling under a gap in a wall and then scaling two razor-wire fences. Three of the escapees including Johnson were captured within days, but it took six months to apprehend the fourth fugitive. Manpower shortages, inadequate staff training and experience, a lack of supervision and insufficient head counts contributed to the escape last year, authorities said at the time. In 2017, two brothers being held on charges that included attempted murder escaped from the jail's exercise yard and were recaptured the next day, WBRZ-TV reported at the time. Tangipahoa Parish's jail in Amite is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans. The latest Tangipahoa Parish jailbreak comes as state and federal law officers continue hunting for five of the 10 inmates who escaped from a jail in New Orleans. In that case, the inmates squeezed through a small hole after removing a toilet. The message 'To Easy LOL' was left on the cell room wall, with an arrow pointing to the hole.
