Louisiana
Authorities search for escaped Louisiana inmate; was unaware murder suspect was missing until tipped off by public
Authorities in Louisiana are looking for an inmate who escaped jail for the second time in a year after a member of the public tipped them off Thursday.
Tra’Von Johnson, 19, 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 Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said it received a call just before 10 p.m. on Thursday from a member of the public who asked if 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, adding that Johnson was the only inmate to have escaped Thursday.
No information was immediately available about anyone who allegedly assisted Johnson in his escape.
This is Johnson’s second escape from the jail in a year, according to the sheriff’s office, who said he was one of four inmates who broke out of the facility “a year ago this month.” Details about Johnson’s 2024 escape were not immediately available.
The sheriff’s office said it called on law enforcement partners for help in the search to find Johnson, alerted victims of his escape and contacted his family members and “known associates.”
Johnson is 5 feet and 5 inches, weighs 120 pounds and is from the Tickfaw area, according to the sheriff’s office. Anyone who sees Johnson or has information on his whereabouts is encouraged to get in touch with the sheriff’s office.
Johnson’s escape isn’t the only prison break that has plagued Louisiana this week.
A week ago in New Orleans, 10 inmates escaped the Orleans Parish Justice Center, a realization that was discovered during a routine headcount. Five of the 10 inmates have since been apprehended, with the remaining five still at-large.
Sterling Williams, a maintenance worker at the facility, has been accused of cutting off the water so inmates could pull the toilet from the wall, leading to their escape, according to officials, who also said three employees were placed on leave without pay. It’s not clear whether Williams was one of those employees.
More than 200 law enforcement personnel are assisting in the search for the five who remain at large, officials said.
Louisiana
Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis arrested on DWI count, State Police say
Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis was arrested on a count of driving while intoxicated over the weekend, a Louisiana State Police spokesperson said.
Lewis, 33, was arrested in West Baton Rouge Parish, officials said.
It is the West Baton Rouge Parish jail’s policy to not book first-offense DWI offenders, therefore Lewis was not held.
First offense DWI is a misdemeanor charge.
State police said Lewis was initially stopped for driving without headlights.
In a statement, Lewis said he “will be working with lawyers to contest the charge.”
“I have great respect for the men and women who serve our community in law enforcement, and I believe everyone, myself included, is accountable to the law,” he said. “I appreciate the professionalism shown during the encounter.”
Lewis said he understands “the gravity of the situation” and why the community is concerned.
“As I always have, I plan to remain accountable through both my words and my actions, not just through my words,” he said in the statement. “My hope is that our focus remains on the consistent, good work we have accomplished advocating for Louisiana’s citizens.”
The five-member Public Service Commission regulates utilities in Louisiana, like electricity, water, gas and some telecommunications. Lewis’ district covers majority-Black communities stretching from New Orleans up to West Baton Rouge Parish.
Lewis, a Democrat, is the first openly gay person elected to state office in Louisiana. Since ousting longtime commissioner Lambert Boissiere III in a 2022 election, he has been a prominent critic of Entergy and other utilities.
Lewis is also a frequent foe of Gov. Jeff Landry. In February, the PSC board voted to remove him from his role as vice chair after he called Landry an “a**hole” on the social media app X in response to a post Landry made mocking a transgender Department of Health Official in former President Joe Biden’s administration. Lewis argued he was being held to a different standard because he is Black.
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President Donald Trump announced Sunday he is appointing Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as the special envoy to Greenland.
In a Truth Social post on Dec. 21, Trump said “Jeff understands how essential Greenland is to our National Security, and will strongly advance our Country’s Interests for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Allies, and indeed, the World,”
It was not clear whether Landry, who became governor in January 2024, would need to step down to assume this role.
Louisiana authorities captured the third and final inmate who escaped from St. Landry Parish Jail following a weeks-long manhunt.
In early December, three inmates — all 20-somethings jailed on “charges of a violent nature” — removed the mortar and concrete blocks of a deteriorating part of a jail wall, then used sheets and other materials to scale the side of the building, dropped to the first-floor roof, and escaped, the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office has said.
The last remaining escapee, 24-year-old Keith Eli, was apprehended Friday without incident in Opelousas by narcotics detectives and SWAT, the sheriff’s office said. Eli faces one count of attempted second-degree murder.
Eli’s capture comes weeks after authorities apprehended Johnathan Jevon Joseph, 24, on December 8. Joseph had been jailed on charges of principal to first-degree rape, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, among other counts. “Numerous tips” and “intelligence gathering” led authorities to find the escapee, the sheriff’s office said.
Days earlier, Joseph Allen Harrington, a 26-year-old in custody on numerous felony counts, including home invasion and cruelty to juveniles, died by suicide after authorities found him, Port Barre Police Chief Deon Boudreaux told the Associated Press.
A tipster had recognized Harrington, who was pushing an e-bike. Authorities found the e-bike at the home and then used a loudspeaker to urge the individual to come out of the house. They later heard a gunshot and authorities found his body inside with a hunting rifle, Boudreaux said.
Authorities announced the inmates had escaped on December 3.
Maj. Mark LeBlanc, of the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, told the AP that he hadn’t heard of anyone escaping from the jail in this manner before.
“These three were just a little more creative than in years past,” he told the outlet.
However, the three men’s jailbreak came months after 10 inmates at another Louisiana jail — the Orleans Justice Center — in May.
The group was able to open a faulty cell door inside the New Orleans-area jail, squeeze through a hole behind a toilet, and then scale a barbed-wire fence to freedom. They escaped in the early hours of May 16.
Authorities found a message drawn around the hole: an arrow pointing at the gap and the words “To Easy LoL.”
While nine of the escapees were captured within six weeks of their jailbreak, the final inmate — who had the most violent criminal record of the group — wasn’t found until October.
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