A manhunt is underway for three escapees after another jailbreak by Louisiana inmates. Keith Eli, along with two others, removed concrete blocks from a wall, creating a large hole, and fled the jail. According to multiple news outlets, detectives and SWAT officers are searching for 24-year-old Eli, who has been at large for nearly a week. At this time, it is unknown whether they had any assistance.
Three Inmates Escaped
On Wednesday, December 3, 2025, Keith Eli, 24-year-old Jonathan Jevon Joseph, and 26-year-old Joseph Allen Harrington escaped from the St. Landry Parish Jail in Opelousas, Louisiana, about 150 miles Northwest of New Orleans. St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz said the inmates created a hole in the prison by removing blocks and used sheets to help them climb down the wall before dropping to the ground.
The two other escapees have already been captured. Joseph was found on Friday, December 5, after a short chase, and Harrington was found inside a home on Thursday, December 4, just before he killed himself with a hunting rifle. Port Barre Police Chief Deon Boudreaux said officers attempted to bring Harrington outside by using a loudspeaker to call him. He was charged with several felonies, including home invasion and burglary.
Police discovered Joseph hiding in a storage shed after a tip was called in about his whereabouts. He has been jailed on several charges as well, including rape and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Since he was found, only one fugitive remains at large: Eli. Sheriff Guidroz said they will not rest until the final convict is captured. “We will continue our efforts, without end, to apprehend Keith Eli. We would prefer that he surrender himself peaceably,” Guidroz said.
Questioning The Integrity
This is the second jailbreak to happen at the Opelousas jail in the last few months. The police were able to recapture the other inmate in October, but it has reached the level of no longer being a coincidence. “An internal investigation has been initiated, the jail supervisory staff will be providing a comprehensive report, and both will be forwarded to my office for appropriate action,” Guidroz said in a statement on Facebook.
Jessie Bellard, who was appointed St. Landry Parish President in 2020, has disputed the sheriff’s claims about the jail’s structural integrity. “The claims about crumbling walls and rusted-out cell door locks are inaccurate. The Parish Jail does not have these structural issues, and I invite the Sheriff to produce documentation to substantiate his claims,” he wrote on Facebook.
Another Louisiana Jailbreak
A few hours from St. Landry Parish Jail, an even larger jailbreak occurred at the Orleans Parish Justice Center. On May 10, 2025, 10 inmates escaped through a hole behind the toilet. All they left behind was a message on the wall saying, “To Easy LOL.” Officials blame the massive escape on a maintenance worker, Stealing Williams.
They allege he helped the inmates escape by shutting off the water to the toilet and sink inside the cell they escaped from. Surveillance footage showed two inmates ripping open the cell door with the water off and cutting through the pipes connected to the amenities.
All inmates from the Orleans Parish jailbreak have been captured, the last being Derrick Groves, who was found on October 8 inside a crawl space of a home in Atlanta, Georgia. It took hours, and the police, U.S. Marshals, and a SWAT team to forcibly remove and capture the inmate. Although it took them several months to close the case, they were successful in the end, and they will be again when they capture Keith Eli.
