READ MORE: New Orleans jail worker arrested after admitting he helped inmates escape when they threatened to ‘shank’ him Others sent money via apps, lied to authorities during interrogation and messaged or called the fugitives, police say.
This woman — who has not been charged with aiding in the escape — shares the same name as a former Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office employee, according to court records.
Separately, authorities arrested a jail plumber they say helped the men escape, but his attorney maintains he was just trying to unclog a toilet.
Court records show police accuse Massey’s sister of lying to them, slowing down the manhunt and forcing them to lose “critical days and hours” in the search.
Louisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel Robert Hodges said tips from friends and family remain essential to locating the remaining fugitives.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — According to court documents, at least 15 people, many of them friends and family, helped the 10 men who broke out of a New Orleans jail more than two weeks ago by cutting out a hole behind a toilet. They provided food, money, transportation, and shelter.
Some of the fugitives received assistance both before and after their escape, according to records examined by The Associated Press. These individuals included several individuals mentioned in police reports but who were not yet charged.
Lenton Vanburen, the escapee, was allegedly driven to a relative’s house by a former jail employee who assisted him in FaceTimeing his family on the day of the escape. Later, a friend offered him a hiding place in an empty apartment that he had been hired to repaint.
READ MORE: After confessing to helping prisoners flee when they threatened to “shank” him, a New Orleans jail employee was arrested.
Others messaged or called the fugitives, lied to authorities during questioning, and sent money through apps, according to police. The majority face the felony charge of accessory after the fact, and some are currently being held on bonds of $1 million or more.
Police on Thursday increased the reward to $50,000 per fugitive in a city where the criminal justice system is deeply distrusted. The two surviving fugitives, convicted murderer Derrick Groves and Antoine Massey, who is accused of kidnapping and rape, must be apprehended with the help of friends and family, they emphasized.
“We recognize that some of you may be reporting a friend, loved one, or relative, and even though it may not be simple, it is essential that you report them for your own safety as well as the safety of the public,” said FBI New Orleans special agent in charge Jonathan Tapp on Thursday.
An ex-inmate seems connected to the escape.
A woman who police said was “associated” with Groves “picked up” and took escapee Vanburen to a relative’s home following the daring escape in the early hours of May 16, according to the documents.
While traveling, she made a video call to Vanburen’s sisters, who arrived to greet him.
According to court documents, this woman had the same name as a former employee of the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office. She has not been charged with aiding in the escape. That employee was detained in 2023 for bringing a folding knife and a bag of tobacco and marijuana-containing Cheetos into the jail.
Because the woman had no criminal history and “successfully completed” a pretrial diversion program, the charges were dropped, the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office told The Associated Press. A request for comment from the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office was not answered.
The woman denied aiding fugitives and bringing in contraband in a text message to an AP reporter.
Authorities have also detained a jail plumber who they claim assisted the men in escaping, although his lawyer insists he was merely attempting to clear a clogged toilet.
Arrests are made possible by phone records.
According to police reports, Massey and other escapees used internet phone services to talk to their co-conspirators and “avoid detection” by not leaving a trail of cellular signals.
According to court documents, escapee Corey Boyd threatened to kill one person if he did not comply with his demands for money and access to their iCloud accounts via an internet phone service.
Months’ worth of calls from Boyd’s “top caller” while he was in jail were examined by the FBI. They then used a brief call they received from a new phone number the night after the escape to assist in locating Boyd. When a SWAT team caught Boyd on May 20, they found that his aunt was contacting him on Instagram to help him get food while he was hiding in the apartment.
An abuse victim is taken into custody as an accomplice.
Court documents reveal that one of the women who was accused of aiding Massey and referred to by the police as his “paramour” endured years of physical abuse at his hands.
According to authorities, the woman knew about Massey’s intended escape and later lied to them. She had previously filed a protective order against him after he tried to strangle her.
She wrote to Massey’s sister, who is 31 years old, expressing their hope that he “never gets caught.”. “.”.
Authorities searched Massey’s sister’s house in New Orleans six days after the escape, but they were unable to find anything. Before the raid, Massey was found to have entered the house and removed and changed evidence from his sister’s phone.
Police claim Massey’s sister lied to them, slowing down the manhunt and costing them “critical days and hours” in the search, according to court documents.
Authorities ask the public for assistance.
Among those charged with felonies for assisting the fugitives, at least seven have connections to Lenton Vanburen, Jr. based on authorities.
In the hours leading up to his escape, he used a prison phone to warn two of his sisters, and he gave them instructions to call “my girl” and give her a “clean phone” so they could talk.
The woman who police identified as Vanburen’s romantic interest denied any involvement in the escape plans and told The Associated Press she never got the phone.
The night Vanburen escaped, his sisters met him at a family member’s house, where he was given toiletries, allowed to shower, and changed clothes. He was later allegedly brought to a relative’s house in Mississippi by another family member.
Vanburen was apprehended on Monday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and two men who were detained this week were charged with assisting him in obtaining lodging in a hotel that was paid for with cash and an apartment that was being renovated. Their legal counsel was not listed in the Baton Rouge court system’s records.
According to her lawyer, a 59-year-old Louisiana woman is charged in another case with sending money to a family friend who is on the run, Jermaine Donald.
According to Lindsey Hortenstine, director of communications for the Orleans Parish Public Defenders’ office, the majority of those detained for aiding the fugitives have not yet found legal representation.
Colonel Robert Hodges, superintendent of Louisiana State Police, stated that finding the remaining fugitives still depends on tips from friends and family.
“They’re exhausted, and they’re searching for resources by looking over their shoulder,” Hodges stated. In my opinion, law enforcement has an advantage, and maintaining that advantage will require the support of the general public. “”.
Brook works for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative as a corps member. A nonprofit national service program called Report for America places reporters in local newsrooms to cover topics that aren’t often covered.
