NEW ORLEANS — After a widening manhunt that ultimately brought Louisiana law enforcement officers across the border to Texas, authorities have captured an 18-year-old who escaped from a juvenile “halfway house” on Sept. 13.
The escape by juvenile lifer Lynell Reynolds sparked fear and frustration from the victim who was shot and paralyzed by the teenager.
Reynolds was reported to have been taken into custody Monday near San Antonio, Texas. nearly three weeks after he walked out of La Maison De Grace in Lake Charles, La., a so-called step-down facility where he was preparing for his imminent release.
WWL-TV exclusively obtained a photograph of Reynolds shortly after he was taken into custody. State officials have not responded to calls for more information about his capture.
There has been no information on what new charges Reynolds will face, but he will now face those charges as an adult since he is 18.
Reynolds’ escape sounded alarms from a wide range of people, including New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams, the victim – 25-year-old victim Darrelle Scott – as well as the U.S. Marshals Service, who assisted the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice in the search.
Scott and his grandmother Dorothy White expressed frustration that OJJ waited almost a week before notifying the district attorney’s office about the escape. Once prosecutors informed the family, Scott said he curtailed his movements out of fear.
“Very on edge. Just nerve-wracking,” Scott said last week. “So I’m mostly just staying inside.”
The decision by Judge Candice Bates-Anderson to allow Reynolds into the “step down process” as part of an early release allowed him to be transferred to the non-secure facility, from which he bolted with his belongings in the early morning hours of Sept. 13. Despite Anderson sentencing to juvenile life, until he turned 21, she ultimately granted his early release based on his progress while in OJJ custody.
Anderson’s decision was blasted by the family.
“I begged the judge,” said Scott’s grandmother Dorothy White. “Judge, for the public, for the victim, please don't step Lynell down. He's not ready. And here we are, still, re-living this all over again.”
Reynolds was sentenced after being found responsible for shooting Scott in the back during a robbery, apparently lashing out because Scott only had $1. The attempted murder and armed robbery convictions came after a string of prior arrests for juvenile offenses didn’t slow him down.
Williams said his prosecutors consistently opposed Reynolds early release.
“The judge disagreed with me,” Williams said. “Judges have a right to do that. And it clearly was the wrong decision. And Lynell Reynolds has absolutely proven that by escaping and as I understand it, this is not his first attempted escape.”
Reynolds, who 13 when he shot Scott, was supported by several teachers and counselors at the time of his sentencing. They urged Anderson for leniency, citing his efforts in school despite his own profound trauma.
At several court hearings, it was revealed that two of Reynolds;’ siblings were murdered by a mentally-deranged uncle, who then killed himself. And when he was 10, another attack left his mother fatally shot and his father brain-damaged.