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USA Today
3 days ago
- General
- USA Today
Apparent Instagram video of escaped New Orleans inmate could be a big break, experts say
Apparent Instagram video of escaped New Orleans inmate could be a big break, experts say Show Caption Hide Caption New Orleans resident says sheriff 'failed us' after jail escape New Orleans resident Lakisha Catchings lives near where one of 10 escaped inmates was apprehended. She says the sheriff failed to protect the city. Authorities searching for two of the inmates who escaped a New Orleans jail last month may have gotten their biggest break yet: A video apparently posted to social media by one of the fugitives. On May 16, a group of 10 inmates escaped the Orleans Parish jail through a hole behind a toilet, officials said. Law enforcement has since captured eight of the men, leaving only Antoine Massey, 32, and Derrick Groves, 27, on the run. The video posted to Instagram on June 1 shows a man who identifies himself as Massey in what appears to be an apartment. The man in the video denies claims he was the mastermind of the jailbreak, saying "I didn't break out. I was let out." He also proclaimed his innocence, solicited help from a litany of celebrities – including President Donald Trump and rapper Meek Mill – and said he fled to avoid being charged for a crime he did not commit. Experts who reviewed the video told USA TODAY it could be the break investigators were looking for. The Instagram post, they said, could lead authorities to a location where Massey is holed up, or to a person who's helping him. The video itself gives law enforcement a look at his most recent appearance and provides insights into his current frame of mind. "Posting a video is great for law enforcement," said Scott Duffey, co-director for the Criminal Justice Institute at Wilmington University and a retired FBI agent. "Anytime a fugitive who's on the lam put his head above water, it's helpful." How does the video help law enforcement? Duffey said the first thing law enforcement will do is investigate whether the video is real or not – an increasingly prevalent challenge in the age of artificial intelligence. Once its validity is confirmed, there's a trove of information authorities can glean from it. On June 2, the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office released a statement saying they are aware of the video and urged Massey to turn himself in. Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether Massey is the man in the video. They've not denied it either. But what information can investigators get from a Instagram that has been deleted? A lot, said Donald Lane, a former U.S. Secret Service agent with decades of experience in fugitive manhunts. Lane said investigators will try to determine who the account belongs to. If the account that posted the video is linked to a real person, law enforcement will attempt to interview them or obtain a search warrant. If a dummy account was created to upload the video – meaning there's no account information tying it to Massey or an associate – there are still opportunities for solid leads. For example, electronic crime experts could track the use of the social media app – including the action of signing up for an account – to an IP address. Once investigators locate the computer network the device is tied to, they can quickly ascertain a physical address. "Anytime you have a person doing something like this, it's a break in the investigation," Lane said. Is Massey feeling the heat? Duffey and Lane both said Massey appears to be "desperate to prove his case" and anticipating his eventual capture. "He knows he's going to be caught," Lane said. "He's pleading his case in the public forum. ... It shows a bit of desperation." The odds are certainly against Massey, who is charged with domestic abuse involving strangulation as well as theft of a motor vehicle. According to Bryce Peterson, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who has conducted extensive research on inmate escapes, well over 90% of inmates who escape will be recaptured. This is because the life of a fugitive is unsustainable for most people. "It's very tough," Duffey said. "You're always overlooking your shoulder." The eight other fugitives who fled with Massey and Groves were arrested following high-speed chases, facial recognition technology and tips from the public. Over a dozen people have also been arrested and accused of aiding the escapees. Authorities are currently offering $50,000 for tips leading to the arrest of Massey and Groves. Citing the video, Duffey said there could be an opportunity for law enforcement to open up a line of communication and facilitate Massey's surrender. "He's not looking at life in prison and there's some room to play with," Duffey said. "Law enforcement could get him to turn himself in to fight his case in custody. That would be a good thing for him and a good thing for law enforcement." Search continues for escaped 'Devil in the Ozarks' murderer Grant Hardin Meanwhile in Arkansas, authorities have been searching for escaped murderer Grant Hardin, who impersonated a corrections officer to escape a medium-security state prison on May 25. Hardin, 56, dressed up in a makeshift outfit to look like a prison guard and walked out of a gate over a week ago, court records show. Authorities have followed several leads and used drones, aircraft and dogs to hunt for him, with no success, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections. The convicted murderer and rapist is known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks,' the name of a TV documentary program made about his cases in 2023. Hardin was briefly the police chief in Gateway, Arkansas, and had prior law enforcement experience, officials have said. He pleaded guilty to the 2017 murder of James Appleton, a water department worker in Gateway, and the 1997 rape of a school teacher in nearby Rogers, Arkansas. Authorities have offered an up to $20,000 reward for information leading to his recapture. Contributing: Jeanine Santucci
USA Today
29-05-2025
- USA Today
What does it take to catch a fugitive? How NOLA, Ark. escapees are being tracked
What does it take to catch a fugitive? How NOLA, Ark. escapees are being tracked An inmate on the run 'can't show up at his mom's house to take a shower and get some meatloaf,' one expert says. Show Caption Hide Caption Ex-Arkansas police chief imprisoned for murder escapes prison Grant Hardin, a former Gateway, Arkansas, police chief serving time for murder and rape, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock on May 25. unbranded - Newsworthy For fugitives, the odds are stacked against them. With advances in surveillance technology and the proliferation of cameras and drones, today's jail escapees have much more to overcome than their predecessors even a decade ago. Still, the work of law enforcement is meticulous and patience is a key factor as they chase down inmates on the lam. Such sweeping manhunts are currently active in New Orleans and rural Arkansas. Police in Louisiana are searching for two of the 10 men who fled jail custody by climbing through a hole behind a toilet on May 10. In the rugged Ozark Mountains, search teams are hunting Grant Hardin, an ex-police chief and convicted murderer known as the "Devil in the Ozarks," who impersonated a guard and walked out of a medium-security prison on May 25. These breakouts have put residents who live near the facilities on edge and placed a spotlight on inmate escapes, leading many to wonder how the fugitives have managed to evade arrest and what it will take for law enforcement to catch them. Scott Duffey, co-director for the Criminal Justice Institute at Wilmington University and a retired FBI agent who spent a decade focused on fugitive apprehensions, said while the amount of time it takes for authorities to apprehend an escapee is different in each case, the end result is often the same – capture. "I would say higher than 90% of fugitives are caught," Duffey told USA TODAY. "It's a very, very rare occurrence for someone to be able to stay out on the loose. It's not impossible, it's just very difficult." Getting away with murder: These fugitives fled prisons – and were never caught How do investigators track a fugitive? Following a breakout, authorities will notify all law enforcement agencies in the area and establish a perimeter, scouring surveillance footage to identify in what direction the fugitives fled and what areas to cordon off, Duffey said. While on-the-ground-resources take up the search effort, investigators will dig into the background of the fugitives, focusing on their most recent contacts, family members and known criminal associates. "Normally what they do is head immediately to a known associate and try and hole up somewhere they can hide and have food and other resources brought to them," said Donald Lane, a former U.S. Secret Service agent with decades of experience in fugitive manhunts. In addition to interviewing a fugitive's friends and relatives, authorities may also place them under surveillance – a tactic that has often led to apprehensions, Lane said. "This is done in many cases because people lie to protect their family members and close friends," he said. Like True Crime? Check out Witness: A library of true crimes How time works against fugitives As the days go on, authorities will likely set up a tip line and flood the public with information about the fugitive. With the omnipresence of smartphones and doorbell cameras, the public plays a vital role in high-profile searches. Potential leads also come in the form of local crimes such as burglaries or carjackings, which could provide police with crucial information such as the fugitive's last known location, latest appearance and, in some cases, the license plate of a stolen vehicle. "When they're resorting to crimes, it gives law enforcement a bread crumb trail and usually brings them much closer" to an arrest, Duffey said. Both Duffey and Lane emphasized that time is on the side of law enforcement as the escapee burns through resources while trying to stay hidden. "The longer things go on, the harder it becomes for a fugitive," Lane said. "It becomes extremely difficult to get shelter, food, water and avoid human contact." Catching 2 fugitives is easier than finding 10 The breakouts in New Orleans and Arkansas have several stark differences that impact the ongoing searches. In New Orleans, a group of 10 prisoners fled the jail at the same time, which forced law enforcement to divide their resources and attention. "The large amount of individuals that escaped was totally and completely astonishing, and that worked to their advantage," Lane said. "But now that it's narrowed down to two individuals, all those resources are much more focused." Currently on the run are Antoine Massey, 32, and Derrick Groves, 27. Massey was in jail on charges of domestic abuse involving strangulation and motor vehicle theft; he is also the subject of active warrants on charges including rape and kidnapping. Groves has been convicted of two counts of murder and a pair of attempted murder charges. The eight other fugitives were arrested following high speed chases, facial recognition technology flags and tips from the public. Police have also announced the arrests of six people accused of aiding the escapees. The 'Devil in the Ozarks' poses challenges to authorities The escape in Arkansas involves a former police chief who is familiar with law enforcement procedure and the mountainous terrain into which he fled, posing several rare challenges for the investigators looking for Hardin. "If you have a former police chief, he's going to know exactly what law enforcement is looking for, and he's going to know how to avoid as much human contact as possible," Lane said. Still, the odds are in investigators' favor, Lane said. He highlighted the apprehension of Danelo Cavalcante, a murder who escaped a Pennsylvania prison in September 2023 and evaded capture for two weeks. He was taken into custody in a wooded area after a thermal imaging camera picked up his heat signal. "Ultimately, it comes down to the same thing – (Hardin) is a fugitive and he's still on the run," Lane said. "He still can't show up at his mom's house to take a shower and get some meatloaf, you know. He's still likely to get caught over time, even though initially he may be hard to apprehend." Experts say people should stay vigilant Duffey and Lane said those living near the jailbreaks should take precautions such as locking their doors, but should not outright panic. "People in the immediate vicinity of the jail or prison should be vigilant and lock everything – the car, the garage, the house," Duffey said. "All of these can become places to hide or somewhere to look for something to steal." He added that people can help law enforcement by reporting anything suspicious and checking their surveillance cameras and Ring doorbells. Bryce Peterson, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said he's found in his research that 19% of inmate escapes result in some form of violence. That violence most often occurs while inmates are making their initial escape and usually involve relatively minor offenses, like shoving a correctional officer. If crimes are committed while on-the-run, they are typically theft crimes, said Peterson, a senior research scientist in CNA's Center for Justice Research and Innovation. Ultimately, fugitives want to avoid attention, especially any that could put investigators on their trail, Peterson said. He and other experts noted however that as time goes on, there are risks that escaped inmates could become increasingly desperate and potentially turn to violence, especially those already convicted of a major offense like murder. "I have no doubt they'll all be caught," Lane said. "I just hope it's sooner rather than later." Contributing: Terry Collins
Fox News
20-05-2025
- Fox News
Massive jail break in New Orleans 'impossible' without staff involvement, says ex-FBI fugitive hunter
A former FBI agent who spent 10 years hunting fugitives says employees of the Orleans Parish Jail almost certainly knew about and assisted the massive 10-person escape last Friday. Scott Duffey spent 22 years in the FBI, including a decade hunting fugitives, before retiring as a supervisory special agent. He is now the director of the Wilmington University Criminal Justice Institute in Delaware. He said it would be nearly impossible for 10 people to escape from a jail without help from the inside, or at least without people on the inside knowing about a planned escape. "If 10 people did it, that means at least double that number knew about it," he told Fox News Digital. "So that's a big intel breach. And how can that happen without somebody on the inside not assisting?" Authorities said they are investigating whether the inmates, many of whom have been charged with heinous violent crimes, had help from jail staff. Three employees have been suspended pending the ongoing investigation. "How could there not be somebody on the inside?" Duffey said. "That would be such a major intel [and] physical security breach that I would say everybody needs to be looked at there, because that's a huge number [of escapees]." As for why a corrections officer might help a prisoner escape, Duffey said there are a number of reasons, but he specifically mentioned that a romantic relationship with an inmate could be plausible. From an investigatory standpoint, Duffey said it is likely that the fugitives are still in the New Orleans area and likely couch-surfing with friends and family to avoid detection. He said he would be applying maximum pressure to those family and friends to get them to turn the inmates in. "So everybody in the family is immediately being interviewed and probably given the riot act with regards to, OK, we determined he's definitely not here. Now we want to know when's the last time you had contact?" Duffey said. "Did you get contacted by the fugitive since he escaped? And here's what can happen if you aid a fugitive." A romantic relationship was at the center of one of America's more recent high-profile escape cases. Casey White, an inmate at the Lauderdale County, Alabama, jail, was awaiting a capital murder trial while already serving a 75-year sentence for attempted murder and kidnapping when he broke out of jail with the help of a guard. His accomplice was Vicky White, a high-ranking corrections officer at the jail, who allowed him to walk out and then fled alongside him. The pair, who were lovers, led authorities on an 11-day manhunt across Tennessee and Indiana, which eventually culminated in a confrontation outside an Evansville, Indiana, motel room. The pair jumped into a black Cadillac and attempted to flee but were rammed off the road by police, causing a crash. Vicky White died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, and Casey White was captured and extradited back to Alabama. In 2015, another alleged sexual relationship led to a high-profile prison escape. Two inmates at the Clinton Correctional Facility, Richard Matt and David Sweat, escaped from the maximum security facility that bordered the tiny upstate New York town of Dannemora. Both were serving life sentences for murder, but with the help of prison worker Joyce "Tilly" Mitchell, the pair escaped. Matt and Sweat allegedly had sexual relationships with Mitchell, who provided the inmates with tools to hack away at the walls in their cell for three months straight during time normally reserved for eating and recreation. An inspector general's report later noted the institution's culpability in failing to supervise the duo. After a 20-day manhunt, Matt was shot and killed by police about 30 miles from the prison. Days later, Sweat was found by authorities jogging on a road just south of the Canadian border. He was also shot, but he survived his injuries and was returned to prison. Mitchell was sentenced to seven years in prison for her role in the escape. In the same year, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the Mexican drug lord and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, escaped from a maximum-security Mexican jail via a mile-long tunnel that led from his cell to a construction yard. It was later determined that his cartel associates dug the tunnel. Fourteen years earlier, he had escaped from a Mexican prison after bribing guards and being wheeled out in a laundry basket. Guzman was recaptured by Mexican authorities in 2016, extradited to the U.S. the following year and found guilty in 2019 of numerous criminal charges related to his cartel activities. He was sentenced to life in prison in Colorado's ADX Florence, a supermax facility in Colorado. On Dec. 13, 2000, seven men, later dubbed the "Texas 7," escaped from the John B. Connally Unit, a maximum-security prison near Kenedy, Texas, by overpowering the guards. They stole a cache of weapons on their way out of the facility and went on a vicious crime spree. Two of the men were serving life sentences for murder at the time of the escape. On Christmas Eve of that year, the men held up a sporting goods store and shot and killed responding Irving Police Officer Aubry Wright Hawkins. Between Jan. 22–24, 2001, after the airing of an episode of "America's Most Wanted" that featured the men, six of them were captured. The seventh committed suicide before he could be taken into custody. They were all tried and convicted of Hawkins' murder and sentenced to death. Michael Anthony Rodriguez, one of the seven, waived his appeals after his conviction and was executed in 2008. In 2012, the ringleader of the escaped prison gang, George Rivas, was put to death for the murder. Another escapee, Donald Newbury, was executed in 2015. A fourth, Joseph Garcia, was executed in 2018. In 2019, the executions of the last two escapees were stayed. Perhaps the most storied prison escape in American history occurred on June 11, 1962, from the infamous Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco. On that day, Frank Morris and brothers Clarence and John Anglin, all convicted bank robbers, escaped from the prison through air ducts and an unguarded hallway after they placed papier-mâché model heads bearing their likenesses inside their own beds, tricking the guards. They boarded a makeshift raft and paddled away from the island, never to be seen again. It is believed they drowned in San Francisco Bay. A fourth potential escapee, Allen West, did not make it off the island. Alcatraz has recently been in the news as President Donald Trump floated the idea of reopening the island prison.
