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A 'Most Wanted' Prison Escapee From Louisiana Busted Less Than 24 Hours After She Gets To L.A.
Keana Barnes, a convicted killer wanted in Louisiana for escaping prison, was nabbed by Los Angeles Police officers less than 24 hours after the fugitive arrived in L.A.Barnes, 33, had been on the run for three months and was also among the U.S. Marshals' 15 "Most Wanted" criminals.
On Monday, two LAPD officers on crime suppression patrol focusing on the vicinity of 5th and Hill Streets in downtown Los Angeles spotted a woman they believed matched Barnes' description from her "wanted" flyer.
The officers questioned the woman, who ultimately revealed her name, and placed her under arrest.
According to the U.S. Marshals, Barnes "is wanted in the Middle District of Louisiana for escaping from the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women in St. Gabriel, La., where she was serving a 25-year sentence for two counts of manslaughter." Her rap sheet goes back to 1999, and includes a brutal fatal stabbing in 2002 and a fatal shooting in 2003.
Barnes escaped jail at the start of 2013:
On Jan. 1, Louisiana Department of Corrections officials discovered the glass window in Barnes’ cell was broken and she was missing. Officials believe Barnes made her escape by jumping out the first floor window, climbing several fences, including at least one barb wired fence, and eventually exiting the prison grounds.
Since her escape, Barnes has been traveling around the U.S. and Mexico. The LAPD say "her downfall was coming to Los Angeles where she arrived by bus less than 24 hours before her arrest."
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