NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Ten men broke out of a New Orleans jail Friday in an audacious overnight escape by fleeing through a hole behind a toilet and scaling a wall while the lone guard assigned to their cell pod was away getting food, authorities said.
Officials from the sheriff’s office say no deputy was at the pod where the fugitives had been held.
Officials found Robert Moody, 21, in New Orleans thanks to a Crimestoppers tip, according to Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Turmoil at New Orleans’ jail New Orleans’ jail has for more than a decade been subject to federal monitoring and a consent decree intended to improve conditions.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said staff is “stretched thin” at the facility, which is around 60% staffed.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — In a daring overnight escape, ten men fled a New Orleans jail Friday by climbing a wall and escaping through a hole behind a toilet while the only guard assigned to their cell pod was out getting food, according to authorities.
After the breakout, which the local sheriff claims may have been assisted by department members, seven of the escapees—including suspects accused of murder—remain at large.
The media was shown surveillance footage of the escapees running out of the facility during a news conference. Some of them were dressed in orange, while others were dressed in white. Some were seen running across the nearby interstate and into a neighborhood after scaling a fence and using blankets to protect themselves from the barbed wire.
An image of the hole behind a toilet in a cell that the men fled through was provided to The Associated Press by law enforcement. “To Easy LoL” and an arrow pointing at the opening are among the scribbled messages above the hole.
Hours passed before anyone noticed the ten men’s absence, who also took advantage of facility flaws that officials have long lamented in their escape. More than seven hours after the escape, law enforcement only found out about it during a routine morning headcount.
According to sheriff’s office officials, there was not a single deputy present at the pod where the fugitives were detained. They claimed that although a civilian and technician were present to watch the pod, she had left to get food.
Following a quick foot pursuit through the French Quarter, one of the men, 20-year-old Kendall Myles, was captured shortly after the escape. Twice before, he had broken out of juvenile detention facilities.
Two more wanted criminals were apprehended by Friday night. According to the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, authorities discovered 21-year-old Robert Moody in New Orleans as a result of a tip from Crimestoppers. On the social media site X, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill revealed that Dkenan Dennis had been located close to the Chef Menteur Highway.
According to Louisiana State Police, the search is ongoing.
In an update released Saturday morning, Louisiana State Police stated that seven escaped prisoners were still at large.
According to the agency, the apprehended prisoners were flown by state police to a state prison outside of the New Orleans region.
Numerous federal, state, and local agencies are collaborating around the clock to find and capture the remaining people as part of the ongoing search, according to police.
The sheriff attributes it to “defective locks” and perhaps inside assistance.
“Defective locks” allowed the men to escape the Orleans Justice Center, according to Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson. According to Hutson, she has been complaining to officials about the locks for a long time and has even recently this week pushed for funding to repair the failing infrastructure.
According to Hutson, there are signs that the fugitives were assisted in their escape by members of her department.
“It’s nearly impossible, not entirely, but nearly impossible for anyone to leave this facility without assistance,” she said of the 1,400 inmates housed in the jail.
The escapees entered the cell with the hole at around one in the morning by yanking open a door. m.
According to a statement released by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office on Friday evening, at least one of the steel bars guarding plumbing fixtures “looked to have been purposefully cut using a tool.”.
After leaving the facility, the men took off their jail uniforms, and authorities said it is still unknown how some of them were able to get regular clothes so fast.
It was not until 8:30 a.m. that authorities realized the men were missing. M. A news conference on Friday afternoon revealed that one man believed to have escaped was in a different cell, despite the authorities’ initial claim that eleven had escaped.
Until the investigation’s conclusion, three employees have been placed on suspension. It was unclear right away if any of the staff members were thought to have assisted in the escape. Whether the guard who went to get food was one of the three suspended was also not disclosed by officials.
Who are the guys on the run?
The age range of the escapees is 19–42. Men in their 20s make up the majority.
Due to his involvement in the 2018 Mardi Gras Day shootings of two men, Derrick Groves, one of the fugitives, was found guilty last year on two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder. Court documents also reveal that he is charged with battery against a staff member of a correctional facility. Police cautioned that he might try to find witnesses for the murder case.
Corey Boyd, another escapee, had entered a not guilty plea to a pending charge of second-degree murder.
In order to find the fugitives, Hutson stated that the police department was actively collaborating with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
The executive director of Project NOLA, a nonprofit that runs more than 5,000 cameras throughout New Orleans, Bryan LaGarde, said that police used facial recognition technology to identify and apprehend one fugitive. Two escapees in the French Quarter were promptly located after his organization, which collaborates with Louisiana authorities, entered the escapees’ photos into the system.
They were strolling freely down the road. They were looking over their shoulder and keeping their heads down. The other fugitive left the cameras’ field of view, LaGarde added.
Local and state officials criticize the jail administration.
District Attorney Jason Williams of Orleans Parish stated, “This is a total breakdown of the most fundamental duties assigned to a sheriff or jail administrator.”. The sheriff’s office was criticized by him for taking several hours to inform the public and authorities about the escape. “Lives have been endangered by these unacceptable mistakes. “.”.
Attorney General Murrill of the state described the escape as “beyond unacceptable” and claimed that local officials were too slow to notify the public. According to her, she notified neighboring states about the escape.
Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick of the New Orleans Police Department stated that her department is collaborating with the FBI and U.S. and has made “a full court effort” to respond to the escape. S. Marshals.
The officers’ main goal was to find and protect anyone who might have testified in their cases or who might be in danger. One family has been “removed” from their residence, according to Kirkpatrick.
“Anyone who aids or harbors these fugitives will face charges,” Kirkpatrick continued.
Chaos at the jail in New Orleans.
Federal monitoring and a consent decree aimed at improving conditions have been in place at the New Orleans jail for over ten years.
Even after the city replaced the dilapidated Orleans Parish Prison, which had experienced its own string of escapes and dozens of in-custody deaths, with the Orleans Justice Center in 2015, security issues and violence continued.
According to a 2013 ruling by a federal judge, the lockup had turned into an unconstitutional environment for those who were detained there.
According to Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, the facility’s roughly 60% staffed staff is “stretched thin.”.
The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office’s chief financial officer, Bianka Brown, stated that they are unable to pay for a maintenance and service agreement to address issues like damaged doors, lock replacements, and other deteriorating infrastructure.
Jay Mallett, chief of corrections for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, stated that the jail housed many “high security” individuals convicted of violent crimes who needed a “restrictive housing environment that did not exist.”. Dozens of them were being moved to safer areas by the sheriff’s office.
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