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| Three La. Jail Escapees Captured |
| By Times Picayune |
| Published: 02/24/2003 |
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Three men, accused separately of murder, rape and armed robbery, were discovered hiding in a sugar-cane field on February 11 about 11 to 14 hours after they escaped from the St. Charles Parish jail in Killona, authorities said. Calvin Couvillion, 21, charged with second-degree murder; Raymond King Jr., 27, charged with forcible rape of a juvenile; and Lamont Gross, 30, charged with armed robbery, all escaped from the jail through the ceiling between 5 and 8 p.m. on February 10, St. Charles Parish authorities said. The men were recaptured without incident shortly after 7 a.m., authorities said. The men were present at the 5 p.m. evening meal but were missing from the 10 p.m. scheduled roll call, St. Charles Sheriff's Office Chief of Detectives Sam Zinna said. The men, who were being held in a maximum-security wing of the jail, apparently entered the ceiling through a hollow column where the 'video-visitation' TV monitor sits. They then climbed through the ventilation system and down an exterior wall that is outside the security fence, Zinna said. The 590-bed jail opened during the summer of 2001 to much fanfare. It was the first jail in Louisiana outfitted with 'video visitation,' in which inmates converse with visitors over closed-circuit video rather than through glass. Ironically, the visitation system that allowed the escape was installed for safety reasons. Authorities said the video system is safer than face-to-face visits because the inmates don't leave their dormitory. Couvillion, Gross and King were all in the same 30-person 'pod,' a jail dormitory. 'That method of escape is being investigated,' Zinna said. 'We will take (action) in order to prevent this from happening again.' Detectives suspect the men were trying to reach one of Gross' relatives who lives near where they were found. Once the escape was discovered, St. Charles' emergency operations center issued a 'reverse 911' and alerted Killona residents via the telephone, Chief Deputy Joe Cardella said. But Edgard residents apparently weren't notified about the escape until after the men were caught. St. John the Baptist Parish authorities say they instead decided to beef up patrols in the area. 'They are serious offenders and it was of great concern to me,' St. John Sheriff Wayne L. Jones said. 'We put additional units on the streets. We were concerned about a carjacking or robbery attempt.' Jones said he learned of the escape when St. Charles officers contacted him at home on February 10 and that St. John deputies were told to watch for the men. |
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