Three escaped juvenile inmates in Louisiana have been found and returned to custody.
The three male inmates were TyJuan Lafitte and Jeremiah Durham, both 17, and 15-year-old Na’Varaya Lane. The trio were believed to have been aided in their escape by security guard Victoria Tune.
The 21-year-old guard reportedly helped the three escape Louisiana's Ware Youth Detention Center in a white 2010 Pontiac G6.
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However, just 24 hours later, the Red River Parish Sheriff's Office announced the criminals had been caught and brought into custody.
In a statement, the Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office said they apprehended the three male inmates in Houston, Texas. Caught at 2.00am, they were found after the getaway car was located in a motel parking lot. The vehicle was subsequently monitored and when the three inmates and the security guard returned to it, they were arrested.
The statement from 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."
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The statement added: "All suspects will be extradited back to Louisiana where they will face additional charges referencing the escape."
Elsewhere in the US, an urgent manhunt is underway after a murderer escaped a prison bus in Texas.
Gonzalo Lopez was being transported alongside 16 other inmates in an area between Houston and Dallas this week when he managed to slip out of his shackles.
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The 46-year-old then grabbed a sharp object to slash the driver before making his getaway, and he’s now been on the run for three days. He is yet to be apprehended.
Police have increased their original reward of $22,500 to $50,000 to anyone who is able to provide information that would lead to the convict’s arrest.
Lopez was originally convicted in 2006 for the murder of a man in Hidalgo County and was sentenced to life in prison.
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In 2007, he was given a second life sentence for the attempted murder of another man in Webb County.
According to police officials, Lopez carried out the 2005 killing over a $40,000 drug debt while working for the La Mana drug cartel from Tamaulipas, Mexico.
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Niamh Spence