Jail plumber accused of helping New Orleans inmates escape is a scapegoat, lawyer says

CBS News

25-07-2025

A New Orleans jail plumber accused of helping 10 inmates break out of an Orleans Parish correctional facility in May is being used as a scapegoat, his lawyer said Thursday as Sterling Williams pleaded not guilty in court.
"This is a man who's never been in trouble in his life, and suddenly he goes to work, a job he's worked at for years without any problem, and he's used as a scapegoat and thrown in jail," Williams' attorney, Michael Kennedy, said outside the Orleans Parish courthouse.
Williams is the only jail employee among more than a dozen people charged with aiding the inmates. One of the fugitives who escaped remains on the run, more than two months later.
A source familiar with the investigation tells CBS News some jail guards are still on unpaid administrative leave pending a state investigation into their potential involvement. The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office did not respond to requests for comment Thursday about how many employees are on leave or if any employees have been let go.
In May, the sheriff's office said three workers were suspended without pay as the office conducts an internal investigation.
Kennedy is demanding more accountability from state and city officials who he says failed to keep the jail secure.
In May, just days after the escape, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, who oversees the jail, said she "takes full accountability" for the escape, but also pointed blame at the city of New Orleans for ignoring her repeated requests over the last five years for additional money to fix degrading jail infrastructure, including malfunctioning locks on cell doors, and broken security cameras.
Last week, the sheriff's office secured $15 million in emergency funding from the state to make those critical security upgrades.
"The improvements need to be made, they should have been addressed," Kennedy said. "I mean, this is a 10-year-old building that we're talking about. Why is it already falling apart? Why do we need $15 million worth of renovations or upgrades when the building is only a decade old? Because no one has taken care of it, because our city is not working as a team."
The jailbreak fascinated the nation for weeks following the movie-like escape.
The 10 inmates ripped a toilet from the wall of an unoccupied jail cell and crawled through a hole they carved in the wall behind it, sheriff's officials said in May. The inmates were seen on surveillance cameras fleeing out of a delivery deck and darting across Interstate-10 in the middle of the night. They were not noticed missing for seven hours.
Photos released by the sheriff's office after the escape showed the men left behind messages on the wall, including "to easy LOL" and "we innocent."
The Louisiana Attorney General's Office said Williams turned the water off to the jail cell to help the inmates escape without flooding the cell.
According to an affidavit for an arrest warrant, Williams told investigators with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation that he was threatened by one of the inmates, Antoine Massey, prior to escaping. The affidavit said Williams claimed Massey threatened to "shank" him if he didn't shut off the water.
Kennedy previously said his client "neither conspired with the escapees nor did he act out of fear." In an interview with CBS News in May, Kennedy said Williams was asked by another guard to unclog a toilet, although no work order had been placed.
The attorney argued that escaped inmates clogged the toilet to ensure someone would turn off the water, suggesting it was a "well planned escape."
Asked what kind of evidence may exist to support those claims after Thursday's hearing, Kennedy said, "I'm not going to reveal our defense strategy, but what we have is an innocent man, and I look forward to you all understanding that along with me."
However, according to the arrest affidavit, Williams was also seen on surveillance video prior to the escape speaking with Massey and another escaped inmate, Derrick Groves, who allegedly tried to take Williams' phone and wanted Williams to pass Cash App information to Groves' cousin in another part of the jail.
Now two months after the escape, Groves is the only escapee who is yet to be captured. He's convicted of murder for his involvement in a 2018 shooting.
The other nine inmates are in custody in corrections facilities outside of New Orleans.
In response to the attorney general's allegation that Williams let out dangerous criminals, Kennedy said, "the attorney general is wrong."
Four other alleged accomplices, Lenton VanBuren Sr., Patricia VanBuren, Angel McKay and Tyshanea Randolph, also pleaded not guilty while appearing in court by video conference Thursday. Police said they helped the fugitives while they were on the run, bringing food, providing shelter, or offering transportation.
Following the arraignment hearings, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said anyone who had a role in the jailbreak would be held accountable.
"That includes those who helped the inmates from the inside and the outside. All aiders and abettors will be arrested (and) prosecuted to the full extent of the law. That includes anyone who is currently helping Derrick Groves," she said in a statement.
Kennedy is also slamming the state for keeping his client held on a high bond — $1 million.
"It's important to get a lower bond for my client, because in America, we do still value freedom and liberty, and holding someone under a ridiculously high bond, that should be the exception, not the rule," Kennedy said. "Bond is supposed to be high enough to ensure someone will return to court. Not so high that we create a debtors' prison, which is exactly what this is."
Kennedy requested a bond reduction hearing on Thursday. It will take place on Aug. 19 when a discovery hearing is also scheduled to review evidence against Williams and the other four people charged as accomplices.