An inmate at the Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Facility at Camp Minden was captured early Friday after leaving a work detail and stealing a van.
The inmate, Rosendo Zapata, was assigned to a work crew detail on the Camp Minden grounds when he left the supervised work area and drove away in a van. The supervisor immediately alerted the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies on patrol, who located Zapata shortly after leaving the facility near Interstate 20.
Sheriff’s Office deputies pursued Zapata westbound on I-20 and alerted the Bossier Parish and Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Offices and Louisiana State Police for assistance. Throughout the controlled pursuit, authorities ensured the safety of other motorists on the interstate. The pursuit ended when authorities employed a spike strip to deflate the tires and halt the van on the interstate in Caddo Parish.
Zapata was arrested without further incident. He is being held at the Caddo Parish Correctional Center with additional charges pending.
“I appreciate the quick response of our team and the assistance of the Caddo and Bossier Sheriff’s Offices and La. State Police. I also express my appreciation to the citizens on the highway for their cooperation as our emergency vehicles traveled by in pursuit of the offender. We were able to safely apprehend the offender while protecting other drivers on the road,” said Webster Parish Sheriff Jason Parker.