Escaped Casino Robber Leads to Jail Employee Resignation, Officials Reveal

Posted on: November 1, 2022, 02:55h. 

Last updated on: November 1, 2022, 03:33h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

An escape from Louisiana’s Assumption Parish Detention Center has led to a corrections officer quitting his jailhouse job. The escapee was captured last week and is back in custody on a casino robbery charge.

Louisiana’s Assumption Parish Detention Center
Louisiana’s Assumption Parish Detention Center, pictured above. A corrections officer at the jail resigned following an escape. (Image: WAFB)

The unnamed worker quit under pressure, said Assumption Parish Sheriff Leland Falcon, according to The Advocate, a local newspaper. The corrections officer faced firing if he didn’t step down.

Employee Error at Jail

Corrections officials quickly launched an internal review of last Tuesday’s breakout. Initial findings report the ex-worker didn’t follow proper protocol, Falcon said. Officials called it a case of “employee error.” The inquiry is ongoing.

When addressing the escape, Lonny Cavalier, commander of the Assumption Sheriff’s criminal administrative section, confirmed last week there was a “breach in operation protocol in maintaining the count of inmates,” WAFB, a local TV station, reported.

“Our facility is as secure as the people who work it,” Cavalier added. “We are making changes to make sure this does not happen again.”

Falcon described the break-out as “an internal administrative matter.” The corrections officer’s identity was not released.

The escapee, Roller Avila, 19, of Donaldsonville, La., is one of eight suspects who allegedly had a role in the September 29 robbery of Cane Row Truck Stop & Casino. He was charged with armed robbery.

On Thursday, Avila was captured in Jefferson Parish, La, which is some 80 miles from the jail from which he escaped.

Escapee Faces More Charges

Avila was initially placed in Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Correction Complex. He was to be returned to Assumption Parish Detention Center.

More charges against Avila connected to the escape are likely, The Advocate said.

Besides Avila, other robbery suspects were identified as Jose Luis Gordillo, 18, of Gulfport, Miss., Hector Omar Barahona, 20, of New Orleans, La., and Brayon Chinchilla Pacheco, 18, of Harvey, La. Earlier arrests included Jonathan Lopez, 19, of Harvey, La., Norman D. Escalate, 18, of Terrytown, La., and an unnamed 17-year-old from Gretna, La.

Each was charged with armed robbery with a firearm. A 16-year-old from Marrero, La., was charged with being an accessory after the fact to armed robbery with a firearm.

Deputies are investigating if any of the suspects are connected to other robberies, The Advocate said. Besides Avila, most of the other suspects are in the Assumption Parish Detention Center Pacheo is currently in custody in Kansas, incarcerated on several unrelated charges. He will face a charge in Louisiana after the Kansas charges are addressed in courts in that state.

Authorities didn’t say how much cash was stolen in the casino robbery.

The Cane Row gaming property is located in Assumption Parish on Highway 70, some 79 miles west of New Orleans.