OPELOUSAS — Two inmates escaped from the St. Landry Parish Jail on Wednesday morning, according to Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz. 

Guidroz said 24-year-olds Keith Eli and Jonathan Jevon Joseph chipped away at the mortar on a "degrading" wall, allowing them to remove concrete blocks from the wall and escape.

"The inmates used sheets and other items to scale the outer wall, drop onto the first-floor roof and lower themselves to the ground," Guidroz said. 

Joseph was in custody on charges of principal to first-degree rape, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm with a controlled dangerous substance and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. 

Eli had been arrested on an attempted second-degree murder charge.

Guidroz said anyone who sees the escapees should not approach them, but call 911. Anyone with information about them can call the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office at 337-948-6516.