The news became official during an afternoon press conference Wednesday afternoon at the Evangeline Parish Courthouse in Ville Platte. There, police say Soileau was captured in Oklahoma.
He was spotted by an Oklahoma law enforcement officer in a Walmart. The chase began there and continued to the Davis, Okla.area along Interstate 35.
It has been reported by Oklahoma news outlets that at one point during the pursuit, Soileau was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of I-35.
During the pursuit, Soileau and police officers were involved in an exchange of gunfire. He sustained injuries during the gunfight, the full extent of which are unknown, but it is reported that he is in critical condition.
Soileau had not been seen since his escape until yesterday when he allegedly robbed the Guaranty Bank in Vidrine at gunpoint Tuesday morning.
From there, he headed west in a tan pickup truck with a bed cover. He would eventually lose his pursuers in the La. 13 corridor.
The manhunt resumed then involving officers from the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana State Police Troops D, E and I, the Louisiana State Police Air Support Unit and the U.S. Marshals.
He was apprehended in Oklahoma by Oklahoma Highway Patrol and U.S. Marshals following a 30 minute high speed chase.
Soileau escaped from the Pine Prairie Detention Center on Oct. 13 by climbing over a razor-wire topped fence. He also apparently injured himself during the escape.
Before reemerging Tuesday, he was apparently hiding in a wooded area in the vicinity.
Soiileau was serving time for aggravated burglary and other pending charges. He was charged earlier this year with the robbery of a Pine Prairie bank.
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State Police say that escapee Brian Keith Soileau has been captured.
Soileau escaped from a Pine Prairie correction's facility on Oct. 13 and is a suspect in an armed robbery that occurred at Guarantee Bank in Vidrine yesterday.
More as it becomes available.
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