Accused killer escapes from jail
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[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/22/art.crime.rodriguez.missing.jpg caption="Carlos Rodriguez, 39, escaped from the St. Tammany Parish Jail on Saturday night. "]
Gabriel Falcon
AC360° Writer
An inmate awaiting trial for murder escaped Saturday night from a Louisiana jail, authorities said.
The fugitive, Carlos Rodriguez, made his getaway from a secure location inside the St. Tammany Parish Jail just before 10 p.m., said Capt. George Bonnett, spokesman for the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“He was housed in a dorm-style containment area,” Bonnett told CNN, "and he was in there when he escaped.”
A massive search for Rodriguez, 39, is under way and has involved hundreds of deputies. Multiple law enforcement agencies at all jurisdictional levels have been alerted, the sheriff’s office said.
Rodriguez, was charged in connection with a murder-for-hire plot and is expected to be tried for murder next year, Bonnett said.
He is considered dangerous and anyone who sees him is urged to immediately contact 911.
How he was able to get out of the jail remains a mystery. “We are still reconstructing the escape and we’ll have more information on that this week,” Bonnett said.
The jail houses 1211 inmates and has 189 full employees, according to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office web site.
For more crime coverage go to cnn.com/crime.
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Filed under: Crime & Punishment • Gabe Falcon |
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Hello Mr A.Copper. How are you? That is disturbing
& scary. How could they let
this happen. It is not volunteer work. Now he is a public issue. Sincerely,Kula May
Tell Gabriel to let us know where St Tammany is located.
What big town is it near?
An escape is bound to happen when 1211inmates outnumber the 189 full employees by 156% which means that the inmate to full employee ratio is 156 inmates to 1 employee. What is the matter with the jailers? Aren't the jailers supposed to be watching the inmates? This appears to be an inside job and I suggest that the relationship between any guard and the inmate, Carlos Rodriguez, be investigated. There is the possibility that one or more of the guards was threatened with death by a drug cartel if he or she didn't let Carlos Rodriguez escape and provide the opportunity for him to do so. This is not an escape that could have be orchistrated by Rodriguez as he didn't know the layout of the jail nor where to hide from the police. Sometime the family of jailers are threatened with death and a jailer will do anything to protect his or her family. The drugh cartels are alive and active in Louisiana as it is easy for carriers of drugs to sneak into Louisiana by boat from Central and South America.
Anyone feel secure with bringing terrorist into our court system and our prison system yet? I sure do not. It is enough that we are not provided a reasonable sense of security that our own homeland criminals will not escape, do we need to invite further danger into our streets, homes and lives.
There is no room for errors and whom ever, individually or as a whole are responsible for this escape must be held to account and plead their own case of why employement should continue in this line of work and defense.
Other inmates escaped from the same place a year ago. Investigate this one, please. All the positives about the New Orleans area and now this..