A maintenance worker at a New Orleans jail where 10 inmates escaped has been arrested and accused of helping facilitate the breakout, officials said Tuesday.
Sterling Williams, a 33-year-old maintenance worker at the Orleans Parish Justice Center, was arrested and booked into jail Tuesday morning, according to Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill.
Williams was initially booked into the Orleans Parish Jail before being relocated to a different facility, Murrill said.
Escaped inmates Robert Moody, Dkenan Dennis and Kendell Myles were all recaptured on Friday, just hours after breaking out of the jail.
The 10 inmates exited the jail through a wall behind a toilet at 1:01 a.m. on Friday, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said.
Officials said Tuesday that a maintenance worker at a jail in New Orleans where ten prisoners broke out had been taken into custody and charged with aiding the escape.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Tuesday morning that Sterling Williams, 33, a maintenance worker at the Orleans Parish Justice Center, was taken into custody and placed under arrest.
According to sources, Williams allegedly turned off the water to a toilet to make room for the prisoners to flee. After the inmates tore the toilet off its hinges, they were able to escape, including four who are still at large on charges of second-degree murder.
Williams faces ten charges of simple escape and one count of official misconduct. According to Murrill, Williams was moved to another facility after being initially booked into the Orleans Parish Jail.
Along with this investigation, three other jail staff members have been suspended.
According to a statement made by Murrill, Williams acknowledged to agents that he had assisted in the escape. According to Murrill, Williams allegedly stated that one of the escapees suggested that he shut off the water in the cell from which the prisoners had fled.
“Williams turned off the water as instructed, allowing the inmates to carry out their scheme to successfully escape,” according to Murrill’s statement, rather than reporting the inmate.
Williams allegedly told investigators that one of the other prisoners “threatened to shank him” if he did not help them with the escape plan, according to an arrest affidavit submitted in the case.
“A light-skinned black man with facial tattoos, whom he identified as ‘Massey,’ Antoine Massey, threatened to shank him if he did not turn off the water from the outside pipe walk area on the outside of cell 6,” Williams described to Agents during a mirandized interview. “,”.
According to the affidavit, Williams was seen on video surveillance footage standing in the open door of the jail’s 1D pod and conversing with Derrick Groves, Massey, and another unnamed inmate who had escaped.
Groves faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole after being found guilty of second-degree murder, according to the prosecution.
“At that time, Groves tried to take his phone away from him and tried to get Williams to bring a book with cash app information to his cousin in the next pod over,” the affidavit obtained by WGNO, the ABC affiliate in New Orleans, reads.
According to the affidavit, “At Massey’s request, Williams turned off the water in the plumbing area, which allowed ten prisoners from the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office Correctional Center to escape.”. The escape plan would not have succeeded if the prisoners had taken out the cell’s sink and disconnected the remaining plumbing while the water was still running. This could have caused the cell to flood, bringing attention to their actions. “.
According to the affidavits, Williams initially refused to acknowledge his alleged involvement in the escape when investigators confronted him.
“After initially being quite evasive and dishonest, Williams finally came forward and offered proof.
Jason Williams, the district attorney for Orleans Parish, whose office is looking into the breakout, stated in an interview with ABC News on Tuesday morning that the mass escape was obviously an inside job.
Williams stated, “Without some kind of inside help, ten violent criminals don’t get into a pod designed for two and make good their escape through concrete, rebar, and barbed wire.”.
Williams responded, “I don’t know, greed, avarice, friendship, the motives that cause men to do bad things,” when asked why a jail employee would jeopardize their career to aid in the escape. “.”.
As the search for six fugitives who were still at large entered its fifth day, word leaked out that the employee had been arrested.
According to authorities, Corey Boyd, Lenton Vanburen, Jermaine Donald, and Groves are the four men who are currently at large and are accused of second-degree murder.
At around 8:30 a.m., the ten prisoners were found missing while conducting a standard headcount at the Orleans Justice Center. m. Friday local time, as stated by Maj. Silas Phipps from the Sheriff’s Office in Orleans Parish. Officials initially claimed that eleven had escaped, but they were unaware that one had simply been moved to a different cell.
Around one in the morning, the prisoners are thought to have escaped from the jail. m. on Friday, according to authorities.
By 9:30 a.m., the Louisiana State Police, the United States Marshals, and Probation and Parole were informed. M. according to the sheriff’s office on Friday. According to New Orleans police officials, they received notification at 10:30 a.m. A.
Officials said that within 24 hours of the jailbreak, three of the fugitives were taken into custody. One was apprehended after being discovered in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
On Friday, just hours after breaking out of the jail, escaped inmates Robert Moody, Dkenan Dennis, and Kendell Myles were all apprehended. Myles is accused of escaping while he was being held at the jail on a second-degree murder charge.
Gary C., age 21, was the most recent person to be arrested by police on Monday. price, as stated by the Louisiana State Police.
At 12:22 in the morning, some of the escapees started to tamper with a locked cell door. M. local time Friday, and officials said they were captured on camera entering the cell roughly 20 minutes later.
At 1:01 a.m., the 10 prisoners left the jail through a wall behind a restroom. A. Susan Hutson, the sheriff for Orleans Parish, stated on Friday. After that, they fled the property via a loading dock door and used blankets to scale the perimeter wall to shield themselves from the barbed wire, according to Phipps. Officials claimed that they had a direct route to the railroad tracks and the interstate from there.
After officials stated they were looking into how the breach happened and that the inmates must have received assistance, or at the very least some kind of tool that allowed them to escape, the jail maintenance worker was arrested.
At a press conference on May 15, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson stated, “We have the indication that these detainees received assistance in their escape from inside our department.”. Getting out of this facility without outside assistance is nearly impossible, though not entirely so. “,”.
According to Murrill, the breakout investigation is still ongoing.
“Anyone who helped and abetted will be prosecuted to the fullest extent permitted by law, and we will eventually uncover all the facts,” Murrill stated. “I urge anyone with information, including those who may have offered help, to come forward right away in order to optimize their specific case’s outcome. “.”.
This is a story that is evolving. Please return for more information.
