TANGIPAHOA PARISH, La. — UPDATE: TPSO announced the arrest of Omarion Hookfin, 19, leaving just 20-year-old Jamarcus Cyprian still at large.
More than 24 hours have passed since the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s office reported four inmates missing.
The search continues for two of the men.
The department is calling the escape a failure by law enforcement.
Monday morning, two of the inmates were located more than 20 miles south of the jail.
We spoke to residents in that area who say they’ll be on edge until the other two men are also behind bars.
"It’s uncomfortable. Makes you feel uncomfortable,” Tangipahoa Parish resident Armond Dufren said.
Just before 11 a.m. Monday, the Tangipahoa Sheriff’s Office reported that 21-year-old Treyvon Johnson and 19-year-old Avery Guidry of Natalbany were found hiding inside this Dollar General dumpster at Pumpkin Center and Old Baton Rouge highway.
“Yeah, I don’t understand how they made it that far from Amite,” Dufren said.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Omarion Hookfin and 20-year-old Jamarcus Cyprian of Amite are still on the run.
“We feel that they’re no longer in Tangipahoa Parish,” Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office Chief Jimmy Travis said.
Travis says the jail became aware of the escapes Sunday afternoon thanks to a tip.
After doing a headcount and reviewing surveillance video, deputies realized that Guidry and Johnson escaped Saturday – Hookfin and Cyprian escaped Sunday morning.
The department blames some corroded fences, training and staffing issues, and a need for better security.
Cyprian is serving time for armed robbery and weapon charges. Johnson, Hookfin, and Guidry were in jail following their arrest in connection with a 2022 fatal home invasion in Hammond that ended with a 12-year-old girl in the hospital and her 33-year-old father dead.
That’s why Dufren and families across the Northshore are hoping these men are caught quickly.
“It’s not a good feeling. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s just not a good feeling,” Dufren said.
We did speak to other residents who say this is not the first time someone has escaped from the jail.
Chief Travis says most recently, one inmate escaped in January.
If you know anything about Cyprian and Hookfin's whereabouts, you're asked to call 911.
Or, if you want to remain anonymous, call Tangipahoa CrimeStoppers.
The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office says two of the four inmates who escaped the parish jail Sunday evening are now back in custody.
Sheriff Daniel Edwards says deputies found Avery Guidry, 19, and Travon Johnson, 21, hiding in a dumpster behind the Dollar General Store on Pumpkin Center Road and Old Baton Rouge Highway.
"We'd received a phone call that these two individuals, or two individuals meeting their description, were in the area," TPSO Chief Jimmy Travis told media following Guidry and Johnson's capture near the intersection of Old Baton Rouge Highway and Pumpkin Center Road. "At that time, Tangipahoa Parish sheriff's deputies, along with Hammond Police and K9, responded to the area and set up a wide perimeter.
"We were able to take a drone in, to get a close up," he elaborated. "We were able to locate them...they hid in a dumpster there next to a store at that intersection and they were apprehended. Those two are back in custody. However, we still looking for the other two."
Jamarcus Cyprian, 20, and Omarion Hookfin,19, are still on the run, and Chief Travis said TPSO believes neither man is still in the area.
"We feel that they're no longer in Tangipahoa Parish," he said. "But it's still an ongoing investigation. Anyone that assists to help them in any way leave the area will be charged. Any other inmate in our facility that assisted them with their escape will also be charged."
TPSO calls jailbreak a 'failure'
See the complete TPSO presser with Chief Travis below:
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