An escaped inmate has been returned to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office after being captured in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Kelli Palermo was taken into custody by Louisiana officers on Tuesday morning and issued additional charges following her escape on Friday, November 17.
According to Hancock Sheriff Ricky Adam, Palermo was working near the Emergency Operations Center prior to her escape.
“Part of the rehabilitation process is transitioning inmates to a worker status and there are times that inmates demonstrate that they are not yet capable of maintaining our trust,” Adam stated. “In Kelli’s case, she now has a lot bigger problem on her hands and she will have to work twice as hard to work her way out of the criminal justice system.”
Larry Glen Holland, a Beaumont, Texas native, was also arrested and charged with accessory after the fact for his role in aiding Palermo’s escape.
“The resolution of this investigation further exemplifies the great teamwork happening in our office and with our surrounding law enforcement partners on the federal level,” Adam added. “I couldn’t be more pleased at the fine work that was done by all involved to lead to Palermo and Holland’s arrests.”
The U.S. Marshal’s Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force out of Gulfport, the Western Louisiana U.S. Marshal’s out of the Lafayette and Lake Charles Office, Sheriff Tony Mancuso, and the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office aided in the search and arrests.
