Two more people were arrested late last week after authorities found out they, like three other individuals arrested earlier in the week, helped suspected murderer Carlos Rodriguez escape from jail.

However, as of Saturday morning, Rodriguez himself had managed to elude capture.

Sheriff Jack Strain said Rodriguez, who has been on the run since Feb. 20, was able to get out of the jail by going up through the ceiling and then crawling through a crawl space to outside the jail. From there he used a twisted bed sheet to get over the razor wire and fled in a waiting car.

Carlos Rodriguez

The suspected driver of that car, 20-year-old Jacob Jones of Slidell, was arrested Monday and charged with assisting an escape.

On Tuesday, Strain announced his department had arrested two more individuals. This time the suspects were inmates in the jail and are believed to have helped Rodriguez execute his escape from the inside.

One of the suspects, 25-year-old Kristopher Jones, is the brother of Jacob Jones. He was in jail, serving time for aggravated burglary.

The other prisoner who helped is 39-year-old Jared Graham, who was awaiting trial on second-degree murder charges.

Friday afternoon, Strain announced his department had arrest yet two more individuals for helping Rodriguez but had not yet located Rodriguez himself.

Carole Pardo, 59, of 11 Rue St., Kenner, and Boyd Allen Earl, 27, of 20465 County Road 87, Woodland, Ala., were arrested Thursday.

George Bonnett, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said Pardo was arrested by Kenner Police Department after she admitted to supplying Rodriguez with money the night of his escape. Rodriguez reportedly made contact with Pardo in person outside of a restaurant in Kenner, and she provided him with cash.

She was booked into the Kenner Jail and then into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna on the charge of accessory after the fact.

Earl was arrested in Alabama by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office and was charged with assisting escape.

Earl is the brother-in-law of Jacob Jones and reportedly was a passenger in Jones car the night he gave Rodriguez a ride after he escaped from the jail.

He was booked into the Randolph County Jail and awaits extradition back to St. Tammany Parish.

Strain said the search for Rodriguez continues and anyone who is believed to have helped him elude capture will be arrested.

“This is just two more examples of individuals who aided Rodriguez and failed to report this activity to authorities,” Strain said Friday after announcing the most recent arrests. “I strongly urge anyone who has been contacted by Rodriguez to contact your local police department or sheriff’s office and report it. Don’t let our detectives determine during this investigation that you were contacted by Rodriguez and/or aided Rodriguez and failed to report it, or you too will face charges.”

Strain said Rodriguez was able to get out of the jail by going up through the ceiling, and then crawling through a crawl space to outside the jail. From there he used a twisted bed sheet to get over the razor wire and fled in the waiting car.

Strain said that deputies have taken steps to make sure a similar escape does not happen again, but he said it was a problem that he will take up with the architects and engineers who designed the jail when he meets them today.

A team of the contractor’s engineers visited with Strain Friday and made suggestions on how to make sure there are no more escapes. Strain said that even with guards, lights and cameras, the jailers really have to depend on the jail construction to keep in the prisoners.

The same shift of officers were on duty this time as was on duty last June when four prisoners took advantage of inadequate screws and used a hacksaw smuggled into the facility and broke out of a window in the jail.

Bonnett down played this fact, saying it is purely coincidence and “did not play a role in this case.”

Strain said this escape was not Rodriguez’s first attempt to gain freedom. He tried to break out of the jail using what appears to be the same plan in late 2009 but was caught.

According to Strain, a second inmate attempted to escape along with Rodriguez, but his attempt was foiled. It is believed Rodriguez initiated his escape between 9:15-9:20 p.m. Saturday and by 10 p.m. when the escape was discovered he was already on the road.

Rodriguez, 39, was being held as he awaits trial on first-degree murder charges.

According to authorities, Rodriguez was contacted and hired by Gina Scramuzza in February of last year to kill her husband, Mario Scramuzza, who was an EMT with the Lacombe-area fire department.

Weeks prior to the murder, Gina Scramuzza reportedly took out what was described by authorities as a “sizeable” insurance policy on her husband.

Supplied with a key to the couple’s home, Rodriguez and two other illegal immigrants reportedly hid in the home and then attacked Mario Scramuzza when the 48-year-old father returned home on a Friday night. He was restrained at gunpoint, beaten and strangled to death. The three reportedly ransacked the home as instructed to make it look like a burglary.

Strain said he believes Rodriguez may be growing desperate in his attempt to elude capture, and this desperation makes him even more dangerous.

Crimestoppers has issued an award of up to $5,000 for anyone who provides a tip that leads to the arrest of Rodriguez.

This is double the organization’s standard award.

Strain warned that Rodriguez should not be approached, and anyone with information about his whereabouts should call 911, their local authorities or Crimestoppers at 1-877-903-STOP. State it is an urgent call. Crimestoppers also has Hispanic interpreters available to take calls.