BRIDGE CITY - Authorities spent the weekend searching for a troubled teen who beat up a guard and locked her in a bathroom before escaping the facility.

Sources said Jonathan Sheard Jr., who escaped the Bridge City Center for Youth, has a history of trouble. He also escaped last year and was captured in Lafayette Parish.

The problems with juvenile escapes at Office of Juvenile Justice facilities have been called into question recently, as the WBRZ Investigative Unit has exposed glaring holes in the system. OJJ Secretary Bill Sommers told us this year changes are being implemented, but it’s clear those changes have not worked.

Four other teens escaped from the facility last month, causing a massive search. Several of the teens were located on I-49 in a stolen truck.

Those tasked with searching for the escapees tell the Investigative Unit that the night Sheard escaped, the facility was worked by an all-female shift. They said more needs to be done to increase security, and Sommers needs to be held accountable for continued problems under his watch.