MINDEN, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A Webster Parish inmate has been captured in Caddo Parish after stealing a van and leading police on a chase on Interstate-20.
According to the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office, early Friday morning Rosendo Zapata, an inmate at the Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Facility at Camp Minden, left his work detail and drove away in a van. The supervisor immediately alerted the WPSO deputies, who located Zapata shortly after leaving the facility near I-20.
Deputies, who were chasing Zapata in the westbound lanes, then alerted the Bossier Parish and Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Offices and Louisiana State Police for assistance.
The chase ended after authorities deployed a spike strip to deflate the tires and stop the van near the Louisiana-Texas state line in Caddo Parish.
Zapata was arrested and taken to the Caddo Parish Correctional Center where he is being held with additional charges pending.
Webster Parish Sheriff Jason Parker said, “I appreciate the quick response of our team and the assistance of the Caddo and Bossier Sheriff’s Offices and La. State Police. I also express my appreciation to the citizens on the highway for their cooperation as our emergency vehicles traveled by in pursuit of the offender. We were able to safely apprehend the offender while protecting other drivers on the road.”