Man escapes Louisiana jail for 2nd time as separate manhunt for New Orleans inmates continues

Amid the ongoing manhunt for 5 escaped Orleans Parish Correctional Facility inmates, a repetition escapee broke retired of different jailhouse successful a adjacent Louisiana parish. 

The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office (TPSO) said that Tra'Von Johnson, 19, had escaped from the jail connected Thursday day erstwhile different inmate helped assistance him implicit the perimeter fence. 

Johnson, who is awaiting proceedings successful transportation with a deadly 2022 location invasion, besides escaped from the aforesaid jailhouse successful May of past year, according to a TPSO Facebook post. 

Tra'Von Johnson is an escaped jailhouse inmate from Louisiana. (Tagipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office)

He was recaptured Friday conscionable a fewer miles distant from the jail, according to the sheriff's office.

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Tangipahoa Parish is astir 80 miles from Orleans Parish, wherever 10 inmates escaped from jailhouse connected May 16, sparking a manhunt by 200 state, section and national instrumentality enforcement agents. That manhunt is inactive underway. 

The sheriff's bureau said that Johnson escaped astatine 4:30 p.m. Thursday and that it did not larn of the flight until astir 10 p.m. It became alert of the flight lone aft receiving "a telephone from the nationalist questioning whether Johnson was inactive successful custody."

"TPSO engaged its spouse instrumentality enforcement agencies to assistance with not lone locating Johnson, but besides alerting victims and communicating with Johnson’s relatives and known associates," the sheriff's bureau said successful the Facebook post. "At the aforesaid time, jailhouse unit confirmed Johnson was the lone inmate missing and the probe into the escape, from opening to end, began."

The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office is looking for an escaped inmate. (Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office)

Johnson and 2 others allegedly progressive successful the location invasion, on with a 4th person, escaped from the jailhouse connected May 26, 2024 aft breaching a "vulnerable conception of the perimeter fence," Fox 8 reported astatine the time. 

While authorities hunt for Johnson, they besides proceed to hunt for 2 inmates, including a four-time convicted killer, who escaped New Orleans' superior jailhouse connected May 16. 

Ten men are accused of removing a toilet from their compartment successful the Orleans Parish Correctional Facility, cutting a spread successful the partition and moving done an unoccupied corridor, yet hopping the jail's obstruction to freedom. 

In that case, too, jailhouse authorities were unaware of the flight until astir respective hours aft it occurred, sparking questions astir the competency of instrumentality enforcement officials, including Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office (OPSO) Sheriff Susan Hutson.

Sheriff Susan Hutson arrives astatine the Council Chambers for a City Council gathering aft 10 inmates escaped Friday from the Orleans Parish Justice Center astatine City Hall successful New Orleans connected Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Sophia Germer /The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

On Thursday, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams blasted Hutson, whom helium said neglected to bid a implicit probe into the situation compartment transgression scene.

"Time is besides of the essence erstwhile trying to get bully DNA samples oregon cod fingerprints to marque definite those areas are not molested oregon destroyed successful immoderate way," helium said during a quality conference. "So I americium profoundly acrophobic that determination was not an contiguous petition by the sheriff to our section transgression laboratory to get successful determination and examine, document, sphere and cod each of the forensic grounds that was disposable determination truthful that we could already person it tested."

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So far, 13 radical person been arrested for allegedly aiding the 10 escapees, including 33-year-old Sterling Williams, the OPSO worker who served arsenic a attraction idiosyncratic successful the jail. He was charged with 10 counts of main to elemental flight and 1 number of malfeasance successful bureau and is being held connected $1.1 cardinal bond. 

A photograph of Sterling Williams, who is accused of helping 10 inmates flight from the Orleans Parish Jail. (Louisiana Department of Justice)

An inmate wrong the jail, 23-year-old Trevon Williams, has been rebooked connected 10 counts of main to elemental flight for allegedly giving the escapees a broad and garment to assistance them hop the razor-wire obstruction during their escape. 

While Sterlin and Trevon Williams are accused of helping from the inside, respective others are accused of helping the escapees aft 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 root confirmed to Fox News. 

Emmitt Weber, 28, was besides arrested for helping 2 of the inmates aft the escape. So was Casey Smith, 30, who reportedly admitted to driving immoderate of the inmates astir New Orleans aft they escaped. 

Three much inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jailhouse were captured, authorities said Monday. (Louisiana State Police)

Last week, 2 women, Cortnie Harris, 32, and Corvanntay Baptiste, 38, were besides arrested for assisting the fugitives. They are besides being held astatine the Plaquemines County Jail. Harris is being held connected a $2.5 cardinal bond, and Baptiste connected a $1 cardinal bond. 

Harris is accused of transporting immoderate of the escapees to locations passim New Orleans aft the escape, and Baptiste is accused of being successful interaction with escapee Corey Boyd and bringing him nutrient aft the escape. 

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Sources adjacent to the probe told Fox News that Baptiste is the woman of now-recaptured Boyd, who is accused of second-degree murder, and Harris is the woman of Leo Tate, who is inactive connected the run. 

On Thursday night, the Louisiana State Police announced that it had arrested Connie Weeden, 59, who allegedly sent currency to fugitive Jermaine Donald via a cellphone app. 

Connie Weeden, 59, is believed to person assisted the fugitives and was taken into custody pursuing an probe that revealed she was successful interaction via telephone earlier and aft the flight with escapee Jermaine Donald, who remains astatine large. (ST Tammany Parish jail)

She was charged with 1 felony number of accessory aft the information and booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center.

After a volley of arrests Monday, 3 much of the escaped inmates are backmost successful custody. 

Vanburen was arrested successful Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and volition look caller charges related to his escape, on with anterior charges of parole violation, possession of firearm by felon, and amerciable carrying of a weapon.

Fellow jailhouse breakers Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald were arrested successful Walker County, Texas, by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Louisiana State Police said the duo led Texas constabulary connected a high-speed pursuit earlier they were taken into custody. 

The pursuing 5 inmates stay connected the run:

• Antoine Massey, 32, faces charges of home maltreatment involving strangulation, theft of a centrifugal conveyance and a parole violation.
• Derrick Groves, 27, faces 3 counts of attempted second-degree murder, 2 counts of second-degree execution and artillery of a correctional installation employee.

A constabulary chopper pursues a fugitive that escaped from a New Orleans jailhouse connected North Galvez Street connected Tuesday, May 20, 2025 successful New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Hebert)

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Fox News Digital reached retired 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.