Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
AMITE, La. (WGNO) — U.S. Marshals have now joined the search for two inmates who escaped the Tangipahoa Parish Jail on Sunday and are still at-large.
Two other inmates who escaped on Saturday were apprehended Monday. Twenty-year-old Jamarcus Cyprian and 19-year-old Omarion Hookfin have now been on the run for four days.
“With the help of state officials, even U.S. Marshals, they’re out looking for the last two escapees,” said Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff-elect Gerald Sticker. “They’re working tirelessly to get those two individuals back into custody.”
The jail is in Amite, right by a residential neighborhood. WGNO asked one neighbor if they were confident law enforcement officers would be able to apprehend the two inmates.
“By it being local, I hope so, but I just hope it’s not an inside job,” said neighbor Jerome McGee.
Thursday afternoon, inmates from Rayburn Correction Center could be seen on jail property, repairing the fence line by laying down more razor wire.
According to Sticker, the sheriff’s office is also getting help from the state as they deal with a staffing shortage at the jail.
“To give us time to get our hands wrapped around the jail, to get it back secure and make sure everybody is comfortable, they’re going to alleviate some of that off of us and pull some of those DOCs out,” Sticker explained.
Although Sticker doesn’t take office until July 1, he says he has a jail committee already working with the parish government on developing a plan to tackle the jail’s deficiencies.
“We’re just ramping up our plan, so when July 1 comes, hopefully we’ll have a good head start, and we’ll be able to hit the ground, running,” Sticker said.
WGNO reached out to the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections for comment. A spokesman provided the following statement:
The Department of Corrections plans to transfer a small portion of state inmates from the Tangipahoa Parish Jail to undisclosed jails and prisons. The recent escapes at the facility have nothing to do with this decision. Due to security reasons, no further details are available.
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