Joseph Harrington
Joseph Harrington, 26, was one of three people who got out of the St. Landry Parish Jail early on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, by removing concrete blocks from a wall. The sheriff's office said the 45-year-old jail was not adequately maintained, a claim the parish president disputes. Police said he was spotted in Port Barre on Thursday afternoon and was found at a relative's home after officers surrounded it. Officials said he died there from a single gunshot wound, which they describe as self-inflicted, shortly after officers heard the shot.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide. Officials say he took his own life with a single self-inflicted gunshot wound during a standoff with officers in Port Barre after he escaped the St. Landry Parish Jail.
Reported by: St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); Port Barre Police Chief Deon Boudreaux (the agency that held him). The only account of how this person died comes from the agency that held him.
Sources (4)
- Incarceration Transparency, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, Louisiana Deaths Behind Bars
- One St. Landry Jail escapee dead after SWAT standoff in Port Barre
- Escaped St. Landry Parish Jail inmate dead after standoff in Port Barre, officials say
- St. Landry Parish Manhunt Update: Escapee Dies in Port Barre Standoff, One Recaptured, One at Large