ST. LANDRY PARISH — A former Saint Landry Parish inmate who escaped from a transport vehicle in Lafayette last week and was later killed after a multi-day manhunt was no longer part of a parish rehabilitation program at the time of his escape, according to local officials.
Parish President Jessie Bellard said the parish’s “Second Chance” program—designed to provide treatment and support for inmates—was not responsible for the escape of the man, identified as 34-year-old Michael Vavasseur.
“It’s gonna be a revolving door” if underlying issues aren’t addressed, Bellard said, emphasizing the program’s goal of rehabilitation rather than repeated incarceration.
Authorities said Vavasseur escaped Wednesday by jumping from a transport vehicle near the intersection of East Landry and Wallior streets in Lafayette.
Bellard said Vavasseur had previously been approved for the parish’s Second Chance program and was placed at Woodlake Addiction Recovery, a treatment facility in Lafayette.
After failing to complete the program, he was returned to custody.
According to Bellard, events that followed—including additional treatment attempts—occurred outside the parish program’s oversight.
“The family wanted to give him another chance, but we objected to it,” Bellard said.
He said that during a court appearance earlier this year, Vavasseur’s family asked a judge to allow him another opportunity at treatment.
The request was granted, and Vavasseur was later sent to a STOA behavioral health facility in Baton Rouge.
Bellard said the facility was transporting Vavasseur back to jail from Baton Rouge after he "broke rules" in the program, in accordance with a court order, when the escape occurred.
A multi-day search ended in Carencro, where authorities killed Vavasseur following an altercation with law enforcement.
Bellard said the outcome was tragic and suggested it could have been avoided.
“The sad part is, if he would have just come back, served his time, he would have been in front of a judge on May 12 and potentially could have gone home,” he said.
Officials have not released additional details about the confrontation that led to Vavasseur’s death.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
