BATON ROUGE – One of five teenage prisoners who escaped the city-parish managed juvenile jail late Thursday was previously arrested for murder and had figured out how to avoid being tracked by his ankle monitor to buy a gun using counterfeit money, according to sources who spoke with the WBRZ Investigative Unit.

Sources were frustrated the group of teenagers with violent charges were able to overrun guards at the juvenile facility near the airport late Thursday.  They shared details of the jailbreak and suspects’ information with WBRZ Chief Investigator Chris Nakamoto.

Watch WBRZ all day Friday for in-depth reports on the teens’ bloody getaway.  Stream WBRZ newscasts and breaking news reports here.

As of lunchtime Friday, all but one of the teenagers was back in custody.

Among the teens who escaped and was later captured is Xavier Cade, a notorious criminal suspect who was arrested at 15-years-old for the December 2019 murder of Angela Haymon.  The 74-year-old victim was killed during a burglary on Antioch Road.

Cade was eventually released from his initial arrest and was ordered to wear an ankle monitor as the case against him wound its way through juvenile court.  In May 2021, Cade was arrested again on charges he used fake money to try to buy a gun.  The WBRZ Investigative Unit reported Cade managed to avoid being tracked by his ankle monitor when he met up with someone to buy the gun.  WBRZ uncovered the ankle monitor was not charged and not working when he was arrested.  The ankle monitor did not report his activity for three days.

Sources told WBRZ about the escape, the teens were able to overpower the guards in a bloody fight.  The guards are not sworn law enforcement officials, sources said, and instead are more akin to security. 

Authorities were reviewing video surveillance of the attack against the guards and a source said about forthcoming charges for the escape – nothing was going to be off the table.

Cade was an escapee with the most heinous charge, sources said.  The other four were in juvenile jail for attempted murder or armed robbery charges.

Baton Rouge Police are handling the investigation into the escape.  Police have not officially released the identities of the escapees.  WBRZ.com and WBRZ News 2 at 10:00 first broke the initial details of the escape Thursday evening: Click here for the original story. 

Click below for previous stories from Chris Nakamoto and the WBRZ Investigative Unit about Xavier Cade:

Family, friends mourn woman killed by teenage burglar

Teen, awaiting trial for 74-year old's murder, arrested for trying to buy gun

INVESTIGATIVE UNIT: Teenage murder suspect's ankle monitor was off for 3 days before he was arrested for buying gun

WBRZ produced a documentary this summer focused on the out-of-control juvenile crime unfolding on the streets of Baton Rouge.  Watch the documentary here.

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