Louisiana inmate recaptured for 2nd time; deputies on leave after errors led to escape
As authorities search for five of 10 missing inmates who busted out of a New Orleans jail, an inmate who fled a different Louisiana jail has been recaptured, and several deputies have been placed on leave for their role in the escape.
Tra'Von Johnson, 22, was a two-time escapee from the Tangipahoa Parish Jail. He escaped the second time on May 22, which wasn't discovered for hours, the sheriff's office there said. He was recaptured the next day and will spend the rest of his pretrial detention at the state penitentiary, officials said.
Johnson escaped at about 4:30 p.m. when another inmate helped lift him up and over a perimeter fence of the jail, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Just before 10 p.m., the sheriff's office received a call from someone in the public "questioning whether Johnson was still in custody." A headcount then revealed his absence.
An investigation revealed that several errors by jail staff helped Johnson make the opportunistic escape, the sheriff's office said in an update. A second inmate at the jail, 28-year-old Trevon Wallace, is also being charged in the escape.
Shortly before the escape, an inmate flooded the dorm Johnson and Wallace were living in, the sheriff's office said. During the cleanup, some of the exterior doors were opened to allow water to exit. While the exterior doors were open, an interior door was "inadvertently" opened for less than a minute before the error was discovered. Johnson and Wallace used that opportunity to make their escape into the yard.
Wallace helped Johnson get over an exterior fence, but then turned back and was escorted by deputies back into his cell.
"The deputies involved in this vulnerable moment did not report it to their superiors, did not seek to bring appropriate charges against Wallace and did not conduct a confirmation headcount to ensure he was the only one gone," the sheriff's office said.
A scheduled headcount proceeded after the escape, but the deputies failed to perform a three-step process and again missed Johnson's absence.
A "handful" of deputies were placed on administrative leave, the sheriff's office said.
The Tangipahoa Jail is about 70 miles away from New Orleans, where 10 inmates escaped by ripping a toilet and sink unit from the wall and climbing through a hole on May 16. Five have since been recaptured.
This is not the first time Johnson has escaped from jail. About a year ago, he was one of four inmates to break out of the same jail, the sheriff's office said. On May 26, 2024, the sheriff's office said in a post on Facebook that four men escaped through a "vulnerable" section of perimeter fence while they were outside for their recreation time.
Johnson escaped while awaiting trial for murder and attempted murder for his alleged role in a 2022 home invasion in which a man died and a child was injured, the sheriff's office said.
The public defender for Tangipahoa didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
(This story was updated to add new information.)