Top prosecutor says 2 remaining New Orleans jail escapees may be in other cities: "They can't hide forever"

CBS News

7 days ago

Two inmates — Antoine Massey and Derrick Groves — who were among 10 people who escaped from a New Orleans jail nearly two weeks ago may be in other cities, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told CBS News in an interview on Wednesday.
Eight of the 10 Orleans Parish Prison inmates have been recaptured after their May 16 jailbreak went unnoticed for hours. Some of them were found within the city's famous French Quarter and others elsewhere within the state of Louisiana, but two of them were found in Texas following extensive surveillance efforts by the U.S. Marshals, authorities said Tuesday.
Attorney General Murrill said the escapees' primary networks are based in New Orleans, and the high-profile case makes it tougher for them to walk around without being noticed.
"They can keep running, but they can't hide forever," Murrill said, adding that she's confident the two who are still on the run will be taken into custody.
Investigations into what Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry called the worst jailbreak in recent state history are ongoing, with at least 13 people arrested in connection with the breakout.
The state's top prosecutor said there are several factors that led to the escape, including the court system, jail staffing and infrastructure issues. A high-priority problem, Murrill added, is the issue of slow-moving criminal cases in the district's court system, which she says has led to overcrowding at the facility.
Although one-third of the jail's security cameras weren't working at the time, according to the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, one surveillance video captured several inmates forcing open a cell door at about 12:22 a.m. CDT and breaching a wall behind the cell's toilet. At around 1 a.m., video showed, the inmates fled the building through a nearby loading dock, according to the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office.
The escape went unnoticed by the sheriff's office until approximately 8:30 a.m. that day. At the time of the escape, no sheriff's deputy was assigned to the area where the inmates initiated the jailbreak.
The sheriff's office also said last week that locks on the cells were defective and the escapees were housed in that particular unit due to ongoing renovations at their previous unit, including new locks being installed.
Murrill, who visited the jail on Tuesday, said that one unit has had all hinges and locks replaced, while another 160 cells need to have the same work done.
"I think that there is hardening that needs to happen at that facility that's just physical changes to things like light bulbs and locks that needs to happen," Murrill said Wednesday. "But at the end of all this, you really have to be able to efficiently move cases, or you're still going to have a continuing problem with a violent population that's there for a very long time, and will continue to beat up and exploit any kind of weakness they can find in that facility."
In a post on X, the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office announced "significant flooding" problems at the jail following the escape, writing, "despite emergency repairs over the weekend, the plumbing challenges still remain, and water is continuing to accumulate in parts of the facility."
The sheriff's office added, "OPSO is working to bring in an external water supply to temporarily accommodate the plumbing issue."
On Wednesday afternoon, inmates at the facility yelled out to CBS News cameras outside the facility, "we need water."
The attorney general said she has spoken with the sheriff about those issues, as well.
The dysfunction at the correctional facility dates back generations. In 1970, a federal judge declaring its overcrowding to be unconstitutional in 1970. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina stranded inmates in chest-high water and left the jail without power. In 2013, a video showed inmates using drugs, drinking beer and brandishing a gun.
Issues continued even after the 2015 opening of the state-of-the-art Orleans Justice Center, which houses nearly 1,400 inmates. There were major issues with the building from the outset, including a lack of supervision and adequate housing for mentally ill inmates, The Associated Press reported.
Following the escape nearly two weeks ago, Gov. Landry ordered the removal of all remaining state Department of Corrections prison inmates from the facility.
The Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams also vocalized concerns about the sheriff's office's ability to securely conduct business, telling CBS News in an interview Monday night he plans to request for a private security detail to temporarily secure the New Orleans courthouse.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, who oversees the jail, said she "takes full accountability" for the escape. She also announced she was temporarily suspending her reelection campaign, saying, in part: "Now is the time to focus on security, accountability, and public safety."
When asked what policy changes need to happen to ensure another jailbreak doesn't happen, Murrill said: "I think that jail officials know the population at their jail, and they know whether that it's suitable for the population that they have."
She added that everyone in the community needs to be paying attention and "participates in insisting that the leadership, the facility, and the court system are all doing their part to protect us and to move these cases through."
Kati Weis
Kati Weis is a Murrow Award-winning reporter for CBS News based in New Orleans, covering the Southeast. She previously worked as an investigative reporter at CBS News Colorado in their Denver newsroom.
contributed to this report.