Green Oaks Detention center dealing with second escape in two months

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - The Monroe Police Department is looking for three young, non-high-risk girls who escaped Green Oaks Detention Center on Friday night, according to the facility director Jason Pleasant.

The escape happened in the 400 block of South Grand St. around 7 p.m. on Dec. 9, 2022.

Pleasant said there were preventative measures in place before their escape, but an employee who has worked at the facility for less than a year failed to follow proper procedure, which allegedly gave the girls an opportunity to access areas outside the facility.

“We take every situation serious,” said Pleasant. “We assess it and we’ve determined the proper procedures were in place, just failed to be followed by the employee.”

The detention employee has not been allowed back on the premises since the incident, Pleasant said.

“We evaluate every situation and if we see any corrections that need to be made, we will make them,” Pleasant said. “We protect the child, staff and community and try to mesh that together for the best outcome.”

Pleasant was hired as the new director of the facility in January of 2021. He said he’d been negotiating with the state for about a year and a half to reinstall fencing and wiring that had been removed during prior tenures.

The state approved that request last month and Pleasant said it should go back up by January of 2023.

Three boys escaped the facility in October, which KNOE previously reported on. Pleasant said one person from that escape, 17-year-old Isszavion Webb, has not been apprehended.

Pleasant said both escapes would have been prevented with the changes being made in January.

The girls who escaped Friday were last seen wearing orange pullovers and possibly pink jumpsuits. Anyone with information on their whereabouts can contact MPD at (318)-329-2600.

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