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 Area law enforcement agencies are looking for three men who held a correctional officer at knifepoint and then escaped from the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff's Office Detention Center 1 early Tuesday morning.

The three men sought are Quentin M. Truehill, 22, of New Orleans; Peter M. Hughes, 22, of Abbeville; and Kentrell F. Johnson, 39, of Marksville. The men are considered armed and dangerous, according to officials.

Avoyelles Parish Sheriff Doug Anderson said the men escaped from the jail around 1:40 a.m. Tuesday. He said that when a jailer opened the door to a disciplinary holding cell to give the inmates water, Truehill pulled out a handmade knife and put it to his throat, threatening to kill him if he did not open a nearby access door.

Anderson said that as the officer began to comply with Truehill's demands, another correctional officer tried to intervene and was cut on the hand. Truehill, Johnson and Hughes all ran from the jail.

Sheriff's deputies, Marksville Police officers and a K-9 chase team from Avoyelles Correctional Center tracked the escapees into a wooded area near La. Highway 1. Officials believe the men were picked up by an accomplice near the old Walmart building in Marksville.

Truehill is serving a 30-year sentence for manslaughter; Hughes, a four-year sentence for unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling; and Johnson, a 10-year sentence for a parole violation in addition to armed robbery charges.

Anderson said Sheriff's Office investigators aggressively are following leads and will use all law enforcement resources available to quickly capture the trio. The Sheriff's Office also is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the capture of the men.

Anyone with information about their whereabouts is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at (318) 253-4000.

CONUS TOC SOURCE