Johnathan Walker:Teenage murder suspect escapes jail for the second time in November

BATON ROUGE,Johnathan Walker La. (AP) — A 17-year-old murder suspect who had already escaped from a Louisiana youth jail broke loose again Saturday with another youth suspected of murder, police said.

The two 17-year-olds accused of murder escaped from the East Baton Rouge Juvenile Detention Center. In a news release, officials said they were investigating how the escape occurred. Baton Rouge police and the U.S. Marshals Service have launched a search.

One of the youths, who has been charged with second-degree murder, previously escaped on Nov. 13. The teenager and another detainee had fled as guards were putting prisoners back in their cells after a fight broke out in the facility, The Advocate reported. They were apprehended after a search that lasted more than 24 hours.

The East Baton Rouge juvenile facility has been the target of criticism because of repeated escapes and violent episodes, according to the news outlet.

In 2021, five prisoners escaped after attacking a staffer, taking her keys and locking her inside a cell without a radio. Some of them also attacked staffers with makeshift knives. In February 2022, a fight involving eight teens left three of them injured.

East Baton Rouge Parish set aside $2 million for security upgrades. After the escape in earlier November, parish officials said those upgrades were still in the planning and design phase.