Third inmate who escaped from southern Louisiana jail captured, officials say

The last of the two inmates who was on the run since escaping from a jail in the southern Louisiana city of Opelousas earlier this month, has been arrested, officials said Friday. A third inmate who was also part of the escape committed suicide after being arrested by police, authorities previously said.

Keith Anthony Eli II, 24, was arrested in Opelousas, St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said in a news release. Opelousas is located approximately 25 miles north of Lafayette.

Guidroz said Eli was captured by narcotics detectives and a SWAT team thanks to a tip.

At the time of his escape, Eli was being held for attempted second-degree murder.

The three men escaped from the St. Landry Parish Prison on Dec. 3 by removing concrete blocks from an upper wall, Guidroz said at the time.

Authorities said the inmates then used sheets and other materials to scale the exterior wall, climb onto the first-floor roof and lower themselves to the ground, Guidroz said.

Escapee Jonathan Joseph, 24, was captured on December 5. He is in custody on several charges, including first-degree rape.

Joseph Harrington, 26, faced several criminal charges, including home invasion. On December 4, a day after the escape, he was recognized by an informant while pushing a black electric bicycle. Police found the e-bike at a nearby house and heard a gunshot as they tried to convince him to leave the building. He had shot himself with a shotgun, Port Barre Police Chief Deon Boudreaux told The Associated Press by telephone.

The escape took place more than seven months later 10 inmates escaped from a New Orleans prison. The ten since been captured.