On Saturday, June 13, Washington Parish inmate Wesley Ockmand, 41, had a very brief taste of freedom.

A jail trusty, Ockmand was pruning the flowerbed in front of the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office when he walked off. He caught a ride and left the area.

Once Ockmand was missed, the Sheriff’s Office began making contacts and quickly determined Ockmand’s probable location.

Within two hours of his walk-off from the property, he was apprehended at a residence in Picayune, Miss. The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office and the Picayune Police Department assisted the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office in apprehending Ockmand.

Ockmand is awaiting trial in Washington Parish on a charge of burglary. He served a sentence with the Department of Corrections for a 1995 manslaughter conviction in Jefferson Parish until 2012 when he was placed in a work release program in Lafourche Parish.

Ockmand was released on parole and later arrested in March 2015 for a burglary in Washington Parish. After his apprehension in Picayune, Ockmand was placed in the Pearl River County Jail until he waived extradition and was returned to Washington Parish. He was placed back in the Washington Parish Jail and then transferred to a facility in north Louisiana.

“Ockmand’s security status had been downgraded to work release status by the Department of Corrections prior to his release on parole,” said Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal. “Due to this community custody status, he was granted trusty status at our jail and utilized for labor in the motor pool and around the jail facility. There were no problems with him and no indications that he might walk off. We regret that he did and are pleased that Warden Miller and our staff were able to locate him so quickly. I appreciate the cooperation of Pearl River County Sheriff David Allison and the Picayune Police Department.”