A prison van was stolen by a prisoner in Webster Parish early Friday morning from the Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center. The prisoner was on work detail at Camp Minden Where BDCC is located. The prisoner then took the police on a high speed chase through 3 parishes down I-20 Westbound.

BDCC was placed on lockdown after the van was stolen. Guards then made sure that no one escaped with the suspect, and Webster Parish Sheriffs were called in to track down the escapee.

Bossier and Caddo Parish Sheriffs, as well as State Police were involved in the chase. Speeds exceeded 100 miles per hour, with more than 10 police units running after the suspect. Police were concerned that the escaped prisoner was going to do serious damage to themselves or others at those break-neck speeds. The chase could be seen speeding down I-20 at around 9AM.

After pursuing the suspect through Webster, Bossier, and Caddo Parishes, the situation was starting to look desperate. But, the police were able to wrangle the escaped prisoner just short of the Texas state line. The suspect was then arrested by Louisiana State Troopers, and taken in to custody.

Though this situation was extremely dangerous and reckless, no accidents or injuries have been reported so far.

The suspect in the chase, was 49 year old Rosendo Zapata. Zapata stole the van during prison work detail from Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center where he is currently serving a sentence.

Zapata was arrested in 2019 for shooting at two people after a dispute. The shots struck the victim's vehicle. He was then charged with one count each of aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated criminal property damage, illegal use of a weapon and simple possession of marijuana.

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