By Ja’kori Madison
The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.
LAFAYETTE, La. — The escape of three inmates from the St. Landry Parish Jail was the result of long-neglected structural failures, Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said Thursday as he presented video and photographs of the facility’s deteriorating conditions.
The sheriff described the facility as “severely overcrowded” and suffering from years of neglect, moisture damage and unresolved maintenance issues in the briefing Thursday.
Of the three inmates who escaped Wednesday, Keith Eli, 24, of Opelousas, is still missing. Joseph Allen Harrington, 26, of Melville, took his own life during a SWAT standoff in Port Barre and Johnathan Javon Joseph, 24, of Opelousas, was captured “without incident” by a SWAT team.
Authorities reported the escape was discovered Wednesday morning following a head count. The inmates found a degrading part of an upper wall area and over time, removed the mortar allowing them to remove concrete blocks and provide their exit, officials said. Parish officials have suggested staffing shortages could’ve contributed to the breakout, according to Guidroz. But he said in news conference that is not true, adding the escape resulted from the weakened cinder blocks rather than any failure in training or staffing.
He said the escape resulted from structural failures, not employee performance.
“We’ve been asking for help to come and fix this. We send work orders from us directly to our parish government,” he said.
Guidroz said that the structural issues are mainly on the jail’s third floor, which serves as the maximum-security level and is built with older, moisture-affected cinder blocks. Lower floors, he said, are constructed with brick and mortar and do not have the same issues.
A video released during the conference shows the inmates climbing down the side of the building using materials left on the jail’s roof by a contractor hired by the parish government to repair water leaks. Extension cords, sheets and rope left behind created “an opportunity for any inmate to slide on out,” he said.
Photographs presented at the briefing showed vent slats removed in a bathroom, which Guidroz said could be used as weapons, and several cell doors and windows without functioning locks. Another photo showed an attempted roof repair inside a cell where toothpaste and toilet paper had been used to plug a leak.
“Those makeshift repairs reflect how long-standing water intrusion has gone unaddressed,” he said.
Other images showed blistering paint and softening cinder blocks caused by moisture, which Guidroz said allowed the escapees to chip away at the wall and kick out the plaster for their escape.
Additional photos showed cell doors missing locking components, water-damaged wiring and camera equipment inside an electrical closet, and water pooling on cell floors caused by plumbing failures. Adding that inmates have also been without hot water for months.
“I think it’s a violation of their civil rights,” Guidroz said.
He said the issue has been presented to the parish but has not been addressed. After seeking a private contractor who specializes in repairs, an estimate to fix the deficiencies was provided to the parish government, which Guidroz said was declined. The use of the parish’s jail maintenance tax, which he said collects between $750,000 and $800,000 annually, was also questioned.
Parish President Jessie Bellard was not immediately available to comment.
In December, Bellard sued the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office over inmate expenses accusing Guidroz of enrichment of his department by taking in state inmates and billing the parish government for unnecessary transfers.
Guidroz said additional officers have been placed on the jail’s third floor to maintain security while the parish considers potential solutions, and he has hired a jail architect to help design improvements and long-term measures to prevent future escapes.
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