Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CLINTON, La. (AP) — It's been 15 years since inmate Lonnie Payne called Louisiana's East Feliciana Parish Prison his home, but a sheriff's official says that's about to change.
Criminal Deputy Greg Phares said late Friday that Payne escaped the prison in Clinton in 2003 while serving time for burglary. He says the now-44-year-old was arrested in Mexico and is now jailed in Conroe, Texas, awaiting a return to the Louisiana prison — possibly by Monday.
The Advocate reports Payne was serving 12 years for a burglary in Jefferson Parish when he escaped after trimming grass between two security fences. Authorities said at the time that Payne apparently went through a gate he had left unlocked, climbed an 8-foot outer fence and fled.
It's unclear how investigators tracked him down.
___
Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.