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USA Today
21-05-2025
- USA Today
New Orleans jail escape: Maps and videos show how it happened
New Orleans jail escape: Maps and videos show how it happened The New Orleans jailbreak, now in its sixth day, has led to a massive manhunt while throwing a spotlight on procedural errors that led to the May 16 escape. Of the 10 inmates who fled early that morning, five have been recaptured as of May 21 and are being held at the maximum-security Louisiana State Penitentiary. While state and local investigators continue to probe how the escape occurred, the incident has led Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson to suspend her re-election campaign, according to a May 20 social media post. How did the escape happen? The inmates escaped early in the morning of May 16 by going through a hole in the wall behind a toilet in one cell, then fleeing from the building through a loading dock door. There were several phrases and doodles marked on the wall above the hole including "To easy lol", " I'm We innocent" and "Catch us when you can". They then moved along a secure perimeter road between the Orleans Parish Jail and a building under construction. After scaling a fence, they crossed Interstate 10 and fled into a nearby neighborhood. Jailbreak update 5 nabbed, 5 to go: Manhunt for escaped New Orleans inmates reaches 6th day Authorities were alerted to their escape hours later after they were discovered the men missing from an 8:30 a.m. headcount. A jail employee - 33-year old Sterling Williams - was arrested in connection with the escape. Two women have been arrested for helping the fugitives. Williams, a maintenance worker, told agents he turned the water off in the cell where the inmates escaped from. His bond is currently set at $1.1 million according to Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill. How many inmates escaped in New Orleans? How many have been caught? What are their charges? Of the 10 inmates who escaped, five have been apprehended as of May 21. Here's a list of their current status and charges, according to The Times-Picayune: The five escaped inmates who are still at-large are: Lenton Vanburen, 26 Charges: Second-degree murder in a November 2021 homicide in New Orleans East, where a victim was shot to death. Pled not guilty. Status, Escaped, at-large. Derrick Groves, 27 Charges: Convicted of second-degree murder in a 2018 Mardi Gras Day killing of two men. Status: Escaped, at-large. Leo Tate, 31 Charges: Second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder in a 7th Ward double shooting in 2018, which killed 19-year-old Alexis Banks and sent a 16-year-old to the hospital. Accepted a plea deal in which murder-related charges were dismissed, and he was convicted of obstruction of justice and sentenced to 10 years behind bars. Status: Escaped, at-large. Antoine Massey, 32 Charges: Motor vehicle theft and domestic abuse battery involving strangulation. Wanted by St. Tammany Parish authorities on suspicion of kidnapping and rape. A judge issued a protective order in Orleans Parish and Massey hadn't entered a plea. Status: Escaped, at-large. Jermaine Donald, 42 Charges: Most recently charged with second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. Pled not guilty. Status: Escaped, at-large. New Orleans jail employee arrested in connection with inmate escape Sterling Williams was arrested and charged with helping 10 inmates break free from a New Orleans jail, authorities said. The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office is offering a monetary reward for information regarding the remaining suspects. Tips can be submitted anonymously through Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or online at Read more: Two women arrested for helping fugitives as manhunt in New Orleans escape reaches 6th day Contributing: Chris Powers
Boston Globe
09-05-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
New pope has Creole roots in New Orleans
The discovery means that Leo XIV, as the pope will be known, is not only breaking ground as the first US-born pontiff. He also comes from a family that reflects the many threads that make up the complicated and rich fabric of the American story. Advertisement The pope's background was unearthed Thursday by a New Orleans genealogist, Jari C. Honora, and confirmed to The New York Times by the pope's older brother, John Prevost, 71, who lives in the Chicago suburbs. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'This discovery is just an additional reminder of how interwoven we are as Americans,' Honora said in a text message late Thursday. 'I hope that it will highlight the long history of Black Catholics, both free and enslaved, in this country, which includes the Holy Father's family.' It's unclear whether the new pope has ever addressed his Creole ancestry in public, and his brother said that the family did not identify as Black. The announcement of his election in Rome focused on his early life in Chicago and decades of service in Peru. Advertisement Honora, who works at the Historic New Orleans Collection, a museum in the French Quarter, began investigating the pope's background because of his French-sounding name, Prevost, but quickly found connections to the South instead. His trail of evidence linking Leo to New Orleans includes the grandparents' marriage certificate from their 7th Ward wedding in 1887, a photo of the Martinez family grave marker in Chicago, and an electronic birth record of Mildred Martinez that shows she was born in Chicago in 1912. The birth record lists Joseph Martinez and 'Louis Baquiex' as Mildred's parents. The father's birthplace is listed as the Dominican Republic; the mother's, New Orleans. Honora also found records from the 1900 Census that list Joseph Martinez as 'Black,' his place of birth as 'Hayti,' and his occupation as 'cigar maker.' Martinez's details appear on the sixth line of a page of the census that Honora shared with the Times. 'Both Joseph Norval Martinez and Louise Baquié were people of color, no doubt about it,' Honora said. Joseph Martinez's exact place of birth remains a bit of a mystery -- Honora also found an 1870 Census record that says the pope's maternal grandfather was born in Louisiana. But he said it was not uncommon for people to change their responses on official records. Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié married at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans. Until it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1915, the church building was on Annette Street in the city's 7th Ward, a historic center of Afro-Creole culture. Creoles, also known as 'Creole people of color,' have a history almost as old as Louisiana. While the word Creole can refer to people of European descent who were born in the Americas, it commonly describes mixed-race people of color. Advertisement Many Louisiana Creoles were known in the 18th and 19th centuries as 'gens de couleur libres,' or free people of color. Many were well educated, French-speaking and Roman Catholic. Over the decades, they established a foothold in business, the building trades and the arts, particularly music, with significant contributions to the development of jazz. They continue to be an important strand in the city's famously heterogeneous culture. The revelation of the new pope's heritage is a tremendous moment for the history of Louisiana Creoles, said Lolita Villavasso Cherrie, a co-founder with Honora of The Creole Genealogical and Historical Association. 'I hate to say it, but we feel, many of us, that our history was hidden from us,' said Villavasso Cherrie, 79, a retired teacher. In part, she said, that's because many Creoles have been able to 'pass' as white over the years. It was only with the advent of the internet, she said, that many people began to research their family history and became aware of their Creole roots. She noted that a significant number of Louisiana Creoles migrated to the Chicago area in the 20th century. John Prevost, the pope's brother, said that their paternal grandparents were from France, and that his father had been born in the United States. He said he and his brothers didn't discuss their Creole roots. 'It was never an issue,' John Prevost said. What all of this means, when it comes to the pope's racial identity, touches on some of the thorniest questions in US society, but also reflects the rich diversity of the American experience. Advertisement 'We are all just a few degrees (or less than a few degrees) removed from each other,' said Honora.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Official final results confirm election results in 7th Ward race in Aurora
Official final voting results from the April 1 consolidated election released recently confirmed that challenger Javier Banuelos defeated incumbent Brandon Tolliver in the tight race for the Aurora City Council's 7th Ward alderman seat. On election night, unofficial results from DuPage and Kane counties initially showed Tolliver leading at 50.48% of the vote compared to Banuelos at 49.12%. But now, official results from the two counties show Banuelos has won the seat at 50.66% of the vote to Tolliver's 48.84%. 'This is a moment of pure joy and gratitude — one I will carry in my heart forever,' Banuelos said in a Facebook post last week about his win. 'Thank you, Ward 7, for your trust and support.' The final results were close — Banuelos received only 25 votes more than Tolliver. Results were also split by county, with Banuelos winning DuPage County by 92 votes but losing Kane County by 67 votes. In total, Banuelos received 696 votes to Tolliver's 671 votes, official results accessed on Tuesday show. State law requires a canvass of votes, which makes results official, be completed no later than 21 days after the election, which for the April 1 consolidated election was Tuesday. Banuelos is set to officially take office at the city's Mayoral and Aldermanic Inauguration Ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on May 13, which will be held at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Aurora. 'No matter who you voted for, please know this: I'm here to serve our entire community,' he said in the Facebook post. 'In the coming weeks, I'll be meeting with residents, local leaders, and organizations to put our shared priorities into action.' Tolliver has been Aurora's 7th Ward alderman since he was appointed to the position after former longtime alderwoman Scheketa Hart-Burns died in June 2023. Saul Fultz also campaigned for the 7th Ward alderman seat in the April 1 election, but he ran as a declared write-in and received less than 10 votes. While official election results were available from DuPage, Kane and Will counties, Kendall County election results were still being shown online as unofficial at the time of reporting on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m., so vote totals for other Aurora city government races were still unofficial. But, the 7th Ward is fully within DuPage and Kane counties, so that race's results were official on Tuesday. rsmith@
Chicago Tribune
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Official final results confirm election results in 7th Ward race in Aurora
Official final voting results from the April 1 consolidated election released recently confirmed that challenger Javier Banuelos defeated incumbent Brandon Tolliver in the tight race for the Aurora City Council's 7th Ward alderman seat. On election night, unofficial results from DuPage and Kane counties initially showed Tolliver leading at 50.48% of the vote compared to Banuelos at 49.12%. But now, official results from the two counties show Banuelos has won the seat at 50.66% of the vote to Tolliver's 48.84%. 'This is a moment of pure joy and gratitude — one I will carry in my heart forever,' Banuelos said in a Facebook post last week about his win. 'Thank you, Ward 7, for your trust and support.' The final results were close — Banuelos received only 25 votes more than Tolliver. Results were also split by county, with Banuelos winning DuPage County by 92 votes but losing Kane County by 67 votes. In total, Banuelos received 696 votes to Tolliver's 671 votes, official results accessed on Tuesday show. State law requires a canvass of votes, which makes results official, be completed no later than 21 days after the election, which for the April 1 consolidated election was Tuesday. Banuelos is set to officially take office at the city's Mayoral and Aldermanic Inauguration Ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on May 13, which will be held at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Aurora. 'No matter who you voted for, please know this: I'm here to serve our entire community,' he said in the Facebook post. 'In the coming weeks, I'll be meeting with residents, local leaders, and organizations to put our shared priorities into action.' Tolliver has been Aurora's 7th Ward alderman since he was appointed to the position after former longtime alderwoman Scheketa Hart-Burns died in June 2023. Saul Fultz also campaigned for the 7th Ward alderman seat in the April 1 election, but he ran as a declared write-in and received less than 10 votes. While official election results were available from DuPage, Kane and Will counties, Kendall County election results were still being shown online as unofficial at the time of reporting on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m., so vote totals for other Aurora city government races were still unofficial. But, the 7th Ward is fully within DuPage and Kane counties, so that race's results were official on Tuesday.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Yahoo
One dead, another injured following separate New Orleans shootings
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — One man is dead and another injured following separate shootings that happened in New Orleans during the early morning hours of Saturday, March 15. Regarding the homicide, which happened in the 12000 block of North Interstate 10 Service Road, officials with the New Orleans Police Department say they were notified around 4:51 a.m. On scene, they reportedly found a 25-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital where he was declared dead. Man wounded following 7th Ward shooting Investigators are trying to determine the responsible party in the shooting, as well as a motive. The coroner's office will identify the victim and cause of death following an autopsy and the notification of family. The other shooting, which happened in the 2200 block of Poydras Street, was reported at 5:53 a.m. Police say the initial information shows that a 41-year-old man had been shot in the body at least once. The case is being investigated as an aggravated battery by shooting. Anyone who can help with the investigations is asked to call NOPD Homicide Detectives at 504-658-5300, Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at veterans for third-ranked UConn have fought through the pain to return in time for March Madness One dead, another injured following separate New Orleans shootings The line-swapping hack at Disney, Universal and Six Flags that all parents should know about United Airlines gate agent punched in face at Dulles International Airport; passenger arrested What are wheat pennies, and why are they sometimes worth thousands? Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
