3 escaped teens, juvenile detention guard who aided them, all caught
Inmates TyJuan Lafitte, Jeremiah Durham and Na'Varaya Lane were apprehended Sunday after breaking out of Ware Youth Detention Center in Coushatta, Louisiana, the day before. (The Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office)
Three juvenile inmates who escaped a Louisiana detention center Saturday morning potentially with the help of a security officer, have all been caught and taken into custody, officials said.
The Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office released a statement Saturday alerting the community that security guard Victoria Tune, 21, was believed to have helped TyJuan Lafitte and Jeremiah Durham, both 17, and 15-year-old Na’Varaya Lane escape the Ware Youth Detention Center in Coushatta, Louisiana, in a white 2010 Pontiac G6. A day later, the office announced the inmates and the security officer had been caught and brought into custody.
Authorities say juvenile detention center guard, Victoria Tune, helped three teens escape.
They were apprehended in Texas by the Houston Police Department around 2 a.m. Sunday, after investigators located the getaway car in a motel parking lot, the Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Investigators monitored the unoccupied vehicle for several hours before the suspects returned to it, at which time the inmates and Tune, were surrounded and arrested, the Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office said.
"In a joint effort by the Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division, the LA State Police Troop G Investigations Unit, the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, the LA Fusion Center and the Houston Police Department‘s Crime Suppression Team, the unoccupied getaway car driven by Victoria Tune was located in the parking lot of a Houston motel where it was kept under surveillance by HPD for several hours," the statement read.
"All suspects will be extradited back to Louisiana where they will face additional charges referencing the escape," the statement continued.
The incident came within a week of a case in Alabama that drew national attention, where security officer Vicky White assisted inmate Casey White with breaking out of prison. The inmate was recaptured Monday after the two crashed their car and were surrounded by law enforcement. Vicky White took her own life during the attempted arrest.