UPDATE: St. Landry Parish Sheriff's deputies are looking for Demarkus Jamal Johnson, 33, who posed as another inmate to make bond late Monday.
A spokesman for the sheriff confirms Johnson is an escapee who posed as another inmate to be released last night around 10 p.m. The inmate whose identity he allegedly stole also was released - because he was entitled to bond. They are looking for Johnson, and an investigation into what happened last night is underway. Additionally, Johnson's alleged victims have been notified of his escape, the spokesman said.
He was booked with Domestic abuse battery (child endangerment), interfering with emergency communications back in January by Eunice Police.
Johnson has been in the news before. In 2024, he was arrested after an hours-long standoff in Abbeville. At that time he also was wanted in Lafayette. After the standoff, he was booked with armed robbery and a parole violation. Lafayette court records show Johnson pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted possession of a firearm by a convicted felon back in 2023. He was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended, and placed on probation for two years. A warrant was issued in July 2024 for his arrest for violating that parole; the warrant states he last contacted his probation officer in May 2024.
In October 2024, a hearing was held in that case and his probation was revoked, and he was ordered to serve the original sentence of three years in prison with credit for time served.
The most recent filing in Lafayette court for his armed robbery charge was in March, when a bench warrant was issued for his release after he failed to appear for his trial. Court records indicate he's accused of the armed robbery of the Lafayette Dairy Queen in June 2024.
Johnson's alleged escape was the topic of the latest salvo in the ongoing feud between St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard and St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz came in the form of a press release Tuesday.
Bellard issued a press release "notifying media outlets of an incident involving an inmate who walked out of the St. Landry Parish Jail last night around 9:00 p.m."
The release states that "we have been made aware that this information has not yet been publicly released by the Sheriff’s Office, and we believe it is important for the public to be informed."
They say the inmate is Demarkus Jamal Johnson, 33, who was being held on domestic battery with child endangerment; the release from Bellard says Johnson's bond was revoked.
Bellard's Tuesday release encouraged "media outlets to reach out to Sheriff Bobby Guidroz’s office for additional information and official comment on this matter."
The parish's top elected officials have been engaging in a back-and-forth about several issues - but mostly the parish jail - for some time. The dispute has resulted in a lawsuit.
Here are some of our other stories about the dispute:
St. Landry Parish Sheriff weighs in on Parish budget cuts ...
Confusion grows over who handles loose dog complaints ...
Sheriff releases new footage and images from jail escape
Fatal chase raises concerns about St. Landry 'Second ...
