Search continues for four-time killer, serial escapee after New Orleans jailbreak
The search for two remaining escapees from the May 16 jailbreak from the Orleans Justice Center continues on Thursday, as the men approach two weeks on the run.
Derrick Groves, who was housed in the jail while awaiting sentencing after a jury found him guilty in October of a double homicide during Mardi Gras in 2018, is one of the remaining fugitives.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in unrelated cases thereafter, and was scheduled to be sentenced in July.
Antoine Massey, a known escape artist, also remains on the run. He was in jail and awaiting trial on charges of domestic abuse involving strangulation, theft of a motor vehicle and a parole violation.
Before busting out of the jail, he had escaped custody three times. He was no longer eligible to be released from jail with an ankle monitor due to his habit of cutting them off, only for police to have to track him down.
The law enforcement agencies involved in the hunt, including the Louisiana State Police, the FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals and the New Orleans Police Department, are scheduled to hold a joint press conference on Thursday to address the status of the escapees.
Cameron Lindsay, a former federal prison warden, was befuddled that Massey was locked in a first-floor cell of the facility, saying that his past warranted far more attention from corrections staff.
"He would be housed in the most secure location within the jail," Lindsay told Fox News Digital. "All staff would be apprised of this individual, and given his incredibly high risk for escape, I would require documented frequent checks at least once every 30 minutes on an irregular schedule."
"I would also insist on documented correctional supervisor rounds, ensuring line staff are strictly following guidelines for inmates of this caliber who present the greatest threat to the community," he said.
The other eight prisoners who escaped from their cell and hopped the barbed wire fence to freedom have all been recaptured.
So far, 14 people have also been arrested for allegedly aiding the fugitives either before or after the escape.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
11 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
US Economic Data Showing Slowdown; Trump Reshapes DEI
"Bloomberg Markets" follows the market moves across every global asset class and discusses the biggest issues for Wall Street. On the show today, Tidalwave Solutions Senior Partner Cameron Johnson, Waystar Technologies CEO Matthew Hawkins, The Verna Myers Company Diversity Pioneer Vernā Myers. (Source: Bloomberg)
CNBC
14 minutes ago
- CNBC
Man charged after allegedly supplying chemicals in Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing
A Washington man is facing charges after allegedly providing large amounts of chemicals used in a car bomb outside a Palm Springs fertility clinic last month, federal authorities said Wednesday. Daniel Park, a 32-year-old from Seattle, was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City overnight in connection with the May 17 car bombing outside the American Reproductive Centers clinic in Palm Springs, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News. Park was charged in a federal complaint with providing and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist, the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, told reporters Wednesday. Prosecutors allege that he supplied 270 pounds of ammonium nitrate, an explosive precursor commonly used to construct homemade bombs, to Guy Edward Bartkus, the primary suspect in the bombing. The May bomb ultimately killed 25-year-old Bartkus and injured four others. The attack damaged the clinic building and left a 250-yard debris field. No one who worked at the center was hurt, and the clinic said the center's lab, which houses eggs, embryos, and reproductive materials, was not damaged. Bartkus lived in Twentynine Palms and appeared to be motivated by anti-natalist ideology, two senior law enforcement officials previously told NBC News. Park allegedly shared Bartkus' extremist beliefs and had posted about the similar ideology on Internet forums dating back to 2016, Akil Davis, the assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said Wednesday. Park allegedly shipped 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate to Bartkus, Essayli said. "Park paid for an additional 90 pounds of ammonium nitrate that was shipped to Bartkus in the days leading up to the Palm Springs attack," Essayli said. Davis said that six packages of ammonium nitrate were shipped from Park in Seattle to Bartkus in Twentynine Palms. A search warrant in Seattle also found that Park had "an explosive recipe that was similar to the Oklahoma City bombing," Davis said. "We believe that Park had knowledge of how to create an ammonium nitrate-fueled bomb," Davis said. "Social media posts indicate that he was attempting to recruit others of like-minded ideology and discuss these things on internet forums." Investigators also learned that Park spent two weeks visiting Bartkus in Twentynine Palms in late January and early February, "running experiments in Bartkus' garage, where the FBI recovered large quantities of chemical precursors and laboratory equipment after the bombing," the prosecutor said. Days after the bombing, prosecutors say Park fled the United States for Europe. Park flew to Warsaw, Poland, via Denmark on May 21, where he was detained on May 30 by Polish authorities. He was deported back to the U.S. and arrested by the FBI and Port Authority police at JFK Airport. Authorities said the investigation into the bombing is ongoing, noting Bartkus was not on their radar prior. There's no indication that there were other potential targets for bombing, Davis said. Park is expected to make his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon in Brooklyn federal court. Essayli said the government will seek to detain him without bail, and the Marshal Service will transport him to the Central California District. Davis called the attack in May "an intentional act of terrorism."
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What is Fusarium graminearum, the fungus US authorities say was smuggled in from China?
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors charged two Chinese researchers on Tuesday with smuggling a crop-killing fungus into the U.S. last summer — charges that come amid heightened political tensions between the two countries and as the Trump administration moves to revoke visas from visiting Chinese students. Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, making false statements and visa fraud for allegedly bringing the fungus Fusarium graminearum into the U.S. Jian, 33, was booked in a Detroit federal court. Liu, 34, is thought to be in China. According to the FBI, Liu had small baggies of the fungus stashed in his backpack when he flew to the U.S. last year and, after claiming ignorance about the plant material inside them, said he was planning to use it for research at a University of Michigan lab where Jian worked and where Liu previously worked. What is Fusarium head blight? Fusarium graminearum causes a disease called Fusarium head blight that can wipe out cereal crops such as wheat, barley and maize and rice — it inflicts $1 billion in losses annually on U.S. wheat and barley crops, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It isn't the only fungus to cause Fusarium head blight, but it's the most common culprit in the U.S. The fungus infects plants early in the growing season, shriveling wheat grains and blanching crop heads a whitish-tan color. It also causes a toxin to accumulate in wheat kernels that can make them unsafe for people and livestock to eat. Nicknamed 'vomitoxin' because it's most known for causing livestock to throw up, it can also cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache and fever in animals and people. Wheat and other grain crops are screened for various toxins, including Fusarium graminearum, before they can be used to feed animals and humans. Farmers have to throw out any infected grains, which can cause devastating losses. 'It's one of the many problems that farmers have to deal with that risks their livelihood,' said David Geiser, a Fusarium expert at Penn State. What are the accusations? Although Jian and Liu are accused of smuggling Fusarium graminearum into the country, the fungus is already prevalent in the U.S. — particularly in the east and Upper Midwest — and scientists have been studying it for decades. Researchers often bring foreign plants, animals and even strains of fungi to the U.S. to study them, but they must file certain permits before moving anything across state or national borders. Studying the genes of a foreign fungus strain, for example, can help scientists learn how it tolerates heat, resists pesticides or mutates. 'We look at variations among individuals just like we do humans,' said Nicole Gauthier, a plant pathologist at the University of Kentucky who studies Fusarium. That said, it's unclear why the Chinese researchers might have wanted to bring that strain of Fusarium graminearum into the U.S. and why they didn't fill out the proper paperwork to do so. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
