According to the Louisiana State Police, Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald were arrested in Walker County.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A fugitive takedown has sent two men to jail. A near two-week search for Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald is now over in dramatic fashion, as the takedown was caught on dash camera footage. The men are now being held in the Walker County Jail.
It’s a dramatic end to a near two-week search for escaped New Orleans inmates Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald.
Huntsville police dash camera footage shows the moment law enforcement from multiple agencies converged on the pair along Highway 190 and Geneva.
Andre Mills watched it all go down from across the street, in his front yard.
“I walked out to the street and then we had a lot of laws. I mean they was everywhere. The car was in the ditch line and then we seen the guys getting up off the ground,” Mills said.
He’d been out enjoying his property when circling helicopters and sirens interrupted the quiet.
“Boom, just police everywhere and it was like 30 police.”
KHOU 11 has learned the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force got word Tate and Donald were hiding out in Houston.
And a tip led DPS to a vehicle north of town. Troopers reportedly attempted to stop the pair near the Montgomery and Walker County line, but they just kept going… finally stopping in Huntsville.
“In the end, I think they just realized that there was nowhere to go, so [they] ended up pulling over and we were really able to take them into custody without incident,” said Huntsville Police Lieutenant Wade Roberts.
On Tuesday, Huntsville police shared video of the arrest:
The pair had been on the run since escaping jail in New Orleans with eight others on May 16. Only two escapees are left on the run.
“It’s a high-risk arrest. You really don’t know what they’re capable of or what they’re willing to do at that point.”
Back at the scene, Mills was shocked to learn who he’d seen arrested.
“I was like, wow, it’s a far, far distance away from New Orleans to here.”
Both suspects are being held without bond. It’s not clear when they’ll be taken back to New Orleans. Right now, it’s not clear why the men were believed to be hiding in Houston.
Escape details
Eight inmates recaptured
- Kendell Myles, 20
- Robert Moody, 21
- Dkenan Dennis, 24
- Gary C. Price, 21
- Corey Boyd, 19
- Lenton Vanburen, 26
- Leo Tate, 31
- Jermaine Donald, 42
Inmates still at large
- Antoine Massey, 32
- Derrick Groves, 27