LAKE PROVIDENCE — Eight inmates escaped from a jail at Lake Providence late Thursday, including three accused killers with ties to Baton Rouge cases, Louisiana State Police said. Five of the eight had been captured, troopers said.

The East Carroll Parish Sheriff's Office previously reported that six inmates had escaped from the River Bend Detention Center.

Destin Brogan, 22, Trenton Taplin, 30, and Hugo Molina, 27, are awaiting trials for killings in East Baton Rouge Parish. Jail records show that Brogan and Kolin Looney, 21, had transferred into the center three weeks ago, while the others entered in 2024 and 2025.

The other inmates who escaped were Krisean Salinas, 21, from St. Mary Parish; Kevin Slaughter, 25, from Rapides Parish; Savion Wheeler, 31, from Acadia Parish; and Kopelon Vicknair, 20, of Lafayette Parish. Jail records also spelled his name as Koplelon Vicknair.

East Carroll Parish Sheriff Wydette Williams said State Police would lead the search for the inmates still at large. 

"All that can be done to locate the missing five is being done at this time," he said. "In the interim, extra resources have been dedicated to the River Bend Detention Center while we all continue responding to this incident."

Troopers said Molina, Taplin and Wheelter had been captured, and the Lake Village, Arkansas, police chief said an inmate was picked up at a Love's Travel Stop there. Which inmate made it to Lake Village wasn't immediately known.

Brogan is awaiting a May 11 trial for second-degree murder in East Baton Rouge Parish. He's accused in a 2022 shooting at a Yorkfield Drive apartment. 

Molina was indicted in 2024 on a second-degree murder charge after he allegedly beat his roommate to death in East Baton Rouge Parish. 

Taplin is awaiting trial on first-degree murder and attempted murder connected to a 2020 shooting off Plank Road. Taplin is due in court on April 11.

Looney was awaiting trial on charges from Lafayette Parish. He previously pleaded guilty in East Baton Rouge Parish to simple burglary and simple criminal property damage. 

Vicknair, initially from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was accused of killing an 18-year-old in 2023 and a newspaper profile of him showed him earning his high school diploma while in jail.

The Rapides Parish Journal reported Slaughter is accused of aggravated assault and other charges filed last month.

WBRZ previously reported that Salinas was arrested in Lafourche Parish in 2019. The St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office listed theft and a number of vehicle-related charges against him last year. 

It wasn't immediately known why Wheeler was in the Riverbend center.

The Lake Providence jail was hammered by last week's winter storm.

"East Carroll residents, I understand this has been a tough week for us all," the sheriff wrote in a Facebook post. "From the intense cold, connectivity issues, power and water problems, we have all gotten this far thanks to first responder supporting first responder, neighbor helping neighbor, and everyone working together."

Savion Wheeler, Hugo Molina, Trenton Taplin, Kolin Loney and Kevin Slaughter Jr. have all been captured and are in custody.