Two inmates on the run after escaping Louisiana jail, police say

Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on May 28, 2024

(NEW YORK) — Police in Louisiana said Monday they caught two of the four inmates who escaped from jail over the weekend, unbeknownst to the guards who were supposed to be watching them.

Omarion Hookfin, 19; Avery Guidry, 19; Jamarcus Cyprian, 20, and Travon Johnson, 21, who were all incarcerated at the Tangipahoa Parish Jail, escaped through a weak portion of the jail’s chain-linked fence on Saturday and Sunday, Chief Jimmy Travis of the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office told reporters during a news conference Monday.

The jail’s officials did not know about the breakouts until they received a phone call Sunday afternoon from a family member of one of the escapees, Travis said. The relative alerted them that two inmates escaped Saturday and came to a relative’s house in the middle of the night looking for a place to stay, Travis said.

By the time jail staff acted, two other inmates had already escaped, according to the chief.

“It’s very concerning. If the proper head counts had been conducted, we would [have] known about it immediately,” Travis said.

The chief, however, said it wasn’t long before investigators found Johnson and Guidry, according to police, after receiving a call from someone who said they saw them.

The pair, who were arrested in connection with a 2022 homicide in Hammond, Louisiana, were hiding in a dumpster behind a Dollar General store roughly 22 miles from the jail, according to police.

Hookfin, who was also arrested in connection with the same 2022 homicide, and Cyprian, who was serving time for armed robbery and weapon charges, according to police records, are still on the loose and likely outside of Tangipahoa Parish, Travis said.

Travis said the investigation into the breakout is still ongoing as investigators are reviewing all evidence and clues, but he said it appeared the suspects allegedly broke through a corroded piece of the fence during recreation time.

“Apparently they made their way, they hid and after dark, they went under a wall and they were able to scale two fences and get away,” Travis said about the Saturday escape.

Travis could not immediately reveal which detainee escaped when, only that two fled on Saturday and two fled on Sunday.

The chief acknowledged that the jail was short-staffed and some staffers were inexperienced, but he said that was no excuse for what happened.

“We had a failure within that we have to correct and move forward,” Travis said.

Anyone with information on the suspects can call Crime Stoppers of Tangipahoa’s anonymous tip line at 800-554-5245 or visit www.tangicrimestoppers.com.