By Bob Warren
The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate
NEW ORLEANS — A prisoner who had escaped from the Tangipahoa Parish Jail and been on the run since May was found by sheriff’s deputies Wednesday as they searched a Hammond -area apartment believed to be connected to a shooting the day before.
During a news conference Thursday, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office said Jamarcus Cyprian, 20, was found hiding in a utility closet with a gun.
Cyprian was one of four prisoners who escaped from the jail in Amite on May 26. The other three were recaptured shortly after the escape, but Cyprian remained at large for months.
Cyprian was captured by deputies who were investigating a shooting in the Hammond area from Tuesday. No one was injured in that shooting and a vehicle that deputies pursued following the incident got away.
But when deputies searched a nearby apartment as part of that investigation they found Cyprian and took him into custody and booked him with one count of simple escape and possession of machine guns, as well as two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The gun Cyprian had in the closet was not a machine gun, though one was found in the house a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said.
The Sheriff’s Office said four others were arrested Wednesday:
— Mi’keem Jackson, 18, of Baker, booked with principal to escape and unlawful possession of machine guns.
— Parish Brumfield, 18, of Ponchatoula, booked with principal to escape.
— Brad Bennett, 18, of Amite, booked with principal to escape.
— Dejonae Demouchet, 20, of Hammond, booked with principal to escape and unlawful possession of machine guns. She also had an outstanding warrant for child endangerment, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The Sheriff’s Office said more arrests are expected involving people who allegedly harbored Cyprian.
One person was arrested in connection with the shooting Tuesday night. Jaylin Robertson, 26, was booked with aggravated assault with a firearm. Two others are sought in that shooting, Johnathan Robertson, 23, and Jimiren Felder, 18.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Criminal Investigations Office at 985-902-2088, or Crimestoppers at 1-800-554-5245.
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