BELLE CHASSE, La. — An inmate who escaped from the courthouse in Belle Chasse took deputies on a chase Tuesday evening after he stole what appears to be a race car, crashed it, then fled into the woods before being caught.
Around 4:45 p.m., the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office got a call about a "race car" speeding near Main Street and F. Edward Hebert Boulevard in Belle Chasse.
A short time later, witnesses reported seeing the car crash into a ditch near the boulevard and Woodland Highway (LA-406).
Deputies arrived and found the car but no driver. Witnesses reported to PPSO that they saw a man run off into the woods, and multiple units arrived to search for the him.
During their investigation, deputies determined that the car was stolen from a nearby warehouse on Main Street and the man, 42-year-old Herman Turlich, was an inmate who had escaped from the courthouse.
At around 7:15 p.m., authorities confirmed the inmate had been found in the woods not far from the crash site and apprehended.
"We were able to put a nice perimeter in that area, where the subject was last seen, and we were able to nap him in an hour, hour-and-a-half later," said Lt. Chaun Domingue with the PPSO.
Domingue said it's unclear how Turlich escaped his security detail in the court, but said they are going to put steps in place to prevent this from happening again.
"We are going to re-evaluate what happened in the court situation and we are going to make some safeguards to make sure inmates don't get the opportunity to walk out, like what happened today," Domingue said.
For now, though, Domingue said he was happy nobody was hurt and Turlich, who was in court to face cimple burglary charges, was caught before sundown.