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.
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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.”
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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.
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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:
- Antoine Massey, 32, faces charges of domestic abuse involving strangulation, theft of a motor vehicle and a parole violation.
- Derrick Groves, 27, faces three counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and battery of a correctional facility employee.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Louisiana State Police and Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano, Christina Shaw and Nate Foy contributed to this report.
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