Latest news with #NOLA
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
New Orleans jail escapee posts videos that prompt home search, says source
Police raided the home where a man who identifies himself as New Orleans jail escapee Antoine Massey filmed videos he released on social media while still on the run, but he was not recaptured, according to an Associated Press source. Authorities were so convinced about the authenticity of the videos that they searched a New Orleans home late Monday where they believe the videos were filmed, according to a senior law enforcement official who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity. The official said he was not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation into the 16 May jail escape by Massey as well as nine other prisoners. Massey was not at the home, the official said – but authorities did locate some clothing they believe he wore during the filming of the clips, including one in which he asked for help from famous rappers and Donald Trump. Authorities had been tipped to the videos, which were posted on Sunday, by relatives who recognized the residence from which Massey was speaking. It was not immediately clear who owned the home. Authorities say they are investigating the videos as they race to recapture Massey and convicted murderer Derrick Groves more than two weeks after 10 prisoners made an audacious breakout from a New Orleans jail. Eight of the other escapees have since been recaptured. Louisiana state police, the agency leading the search for the fugitives, declined to comment on whether it had verified Massey's identity in the videos. The agency carried out the search related to the videos, which have since been removed from Instagram. The New Orleans police department said it 'cannot confirm the authenticity' of the videos circulating on social media seemingly showing a man with the same facial tattoos as Massey sitting near a kitchen. 'Please, I'm asking for help,' said Massey, who appealed to the US president in one video. But, before mentioning the president in that video, Massey appealed to the New Orleans-born rapper Lil Wayne as well as lyricist NBA YoungBoy, who is from nearby Baton Rouge, Louisiana. NBA YoungBoy, whose legal name is Kentrell Gaulden, is among a number of celebrities Trump has recently pardoned. Gaulden had been sentenced to two years in prison after acknowledging he possessed weapons despite being a felon. 'When I get back in custody I'm asking y'all please to come and help,' Massey said. The official who runs New Orleans's jail, local sheriff Susan Hutson, called on Massey to 'come forward and turn himself in'. 'Cooperating with law enforcement is in his best interest and may help avoid additional charges,' Hutson said in an emailed statement. 'It is important that justice is served appropriately and that due process is followed.' Massey, 32, faced charges of rape, kidnapping, domestic violence involving strangulation and violation of a protective order all stemming from a November 2024 incident in the suburban New Orleans community of St Tammany parish, Louisiana, say authorities. In New Orleans, where he was incarcerated, he faced charges of motor vehicle theft and domestic battery. Massey said he is innocent. A woman police identified as being in a relationship with Massey has suffered multiple alleged instances of physical abuse from him, according to police reports, and had a protective order against him last year, court records show. This woman has been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice and being a principle to aggravated escape. Authorities said the woman knew of Massey's escape plans in advance, communicated with him after his escape and misled authorities. Massey also claimed in the video that he had been 'let out' of jail. Footage and images released by authorities show incarcerated people yanking open a faulty cell door, removing a toilet and crawling through a hole where steel bars had been cut. They then scaled a barbed wire fence using blankets. A maintenance worker charged with helping the men escape has denied knowingly aiding them via his lawyer. Guardian staff contributed reporting
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
New Orleans jail escapee releases videos, prompting search of home where they were made, source says
A man who identifies himself as New Orleans jail escapee Antoine Massey released videos on social media while still on the run from authorities, leading to a police raid that failed to recapture him, an Associated Press source says. Authorities were so convinced about the authenticity of the videos that they searched a New Orleans home late Monday where they believe the videos were filmed, according to a senior law enforcement official who spoke to The AP on the condition of anonymity. The official said he was not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation into the May 16 jail escape by 10 inmates. Massey was not at the home, the official said, but authorities did locate some clothing they believe he wore during the filming. Authorities had been tipped to the videos, which were posted on Sunday, by relatives who recognized the residence from which Massey was speaking. It was not immediately clear who owned the home. Authorities say they are investigating the videos as they race to recapture Massey and convicted murderer Derrick Groves more than two weeks after 10 inmates made an audacious breakout from a New Orleans jail. Eight of the other escapees have since been recaptured. Louisiana State Police, the agency leading the search for the fugitives, declined to comment on whether it had verified Massey's identity in the videos. The agency carried out the search related to the videos, which have since been removed from Instagram. The New Orleans Police Department said it 'cannot confirm the authenticity' of the videos circulating on social media seemingly showing a man with the same facial tattoos as Massey sitting near a kitchen. 'Please, I'm asking for help,' said Massey, appealing to President Donald Trump and several rappers including Lil Wayne, a New Orleans native, in one video. 'When I get back in custody I'm asking y'all please to come and help.' Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson called on Massey to 'come forward and turn himself in.' 'Cooperating with law enforcement is in his best interest and may help avoid additional charges,' Hutson said in an emailed statement. "It is important that justice is served appropriately and that due process is followed.' Massey, 32, faced charges of rape, kidnapping, domestic violence involving strangulation and violation of a protective order all stemming from a November 2024 incident, St. Tammany Parish authorities say. In Orleans Parish, where he was incarcerated, he faced charges of motor vehicle theft and domestic battery. Massey said he is innocent. A woman police identified as being in a relationship with Massey has suffered multiple alleged instances of physical abuse from him, according to police reports, and had a protective order against him last year, court records show. This woman has been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice and being a principle to aggravated escape. Authorities said the woman knew of Massey's escape plans in advance, communicated with him after his escape and misled authorities. Massey also claimed in the video that he had been 'let out' of jail. Footage and images released by authorities show inmates yanking open a faulty cell door, removing a toilet and crawling through a hole where steel bars had been cut. They then scaled a barbed wire fence using blankets. A maintenance worker charged with helping the incarcerated men escape has denied knowingly aiding them via his lawyer. ___
CNN
3 days ago
- General
- CNN
What we know about Derrick Groves, the convicted double murderer still on the run after escaping a New Orleans jail
Crime Gun violenceFacebookTweetLink Follow When Derrick Groves, 27, was convicted in October of killing two people, his sentence was supposed to bring relief to New Orleans and renewed confidence in law enforcement. 'The days of Derrick Groves bullying and brutalizing this community are over,' FBI Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil said at the time. But less than a year later, Groves, who later pleaded guilty to battery of a correctional officer, broke out of jail with nine other men and escaped into the dark New Orleans night. Two weeks later, Groves and Antoine Massey, another inmate with a history of escaping custody, are still on the run. A video posted online appears to show Massey declaring his innocence. The US Marshals Service received the video Monday and is looking into it, Deputy US Marshal Brian Fair told CNN. In the video, Massey described himself as 'one of the ones that was let out' of the jail 'where they said I escaped.' 'As far as declaring his innocence, he's going to have to come in to take care of that,' Fair said. Here's what we know about Groves, a man with a violent past whose escape has drawn controversial support. Groves' criminal record dates back to 2014, when he was charged for attempted second-degree murder at age 17. He was eventually found not guilty, according to court records. Last October, Groves was convicted for the second time in the killing of two people on Mardi Gras Day in 2018. After his initial conviction in 2019, a new law calling for unanimous verdicts forced Groves into a second trial — which ended in a mistrial due to a juror reading media reports about the case. A third trial ended in a deadlock, and Groves was finally convicted again last year after a fourth trial, the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office detailed in a news release about the conviction. Groves was determined to be one of two gunmen who opened fire with AK-47-style assault rifles 'on what should have been a joyous Mardi Gras family gathering,' according to the DA's office. Groves was found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Jamar Robinson and Byron Jackson and two counts of attempted second-degree murder for the shooting of two other victims, charges that carry a life sentence, the district attorney said. Prosecutors used social media to help convict Groves, indicating that his online activity 'played a chilling role' in their case. Groves' posted on social media days after the killings showing his familiarity with the weapons used in the incident, according to the DA's office. He 'brazenly boasted about the violence' and even took credit for the killings, officials said. Three witnesses also 'courageously' testified, identifying Groves and his co-defendant as the gunmen, the DA's office said. 'Groves routinely used violence to lash out and silence witnesses or 'snitches,'' Myrthil said at the time. 'There was no doubt in the minds of anyone involved in this case that Groves would continue his bloody rampage on the streets of New Orleans if he weren't stopped. We hope this guilty verdict and the life sentence that accompanies it will give the community renewed confidence and hope in law enforcement.' Because of delays caused by Groves' attorney being suspended from practicing law and the judge in the case recusing herself, Groves was still awaiting sentencing for that conviction at the Orleans Justice Center when he escaped, Keith D. Lampkin, a spokesman for the DA's office, detailed. In April 2024, before his conviction in the double murder, Groves was charged with battery of a correctional facility employee. He pleaded guilty in that case, court records show. After Groves' escape, prosecutors and witnesses associated with the double murder left town 'out of an abundance of caution,' Lampkin told CNN. He did not elaborate. Groves' aunt, Jasmine Groves, told CNN affiliate WDSU that she wants her nephew to turn himself in and that she hopes deadly force will not be used to get him back into custody. She told the station that her family does not know where her nephew is and that the days since his escape have been a nightmare. Jasmine Groves added that Groves' mother was taken from her home against her will by law enforcement officials. US Marshals confirmed to WDSU that they went to Groves' mother's home to question her. 'For my family, it's been like reliving a constant nightmare that we relived throughout these whole 30 years,' she said. Groves is the grandson of Kim Groves, who was killed in a notorious murder-for-hire plot in the Ninth Ward in 1994, the DA's office said. She was a 32-year-old mother of three when the hit was ordered by New Orleans Police Department Officer Len Davis, WDSU reported. This time around, many of the social media posts about Groves have come from supporters, some of whom seem to reference his grandmother's death at the hands of a police officer as a reason to extend him sympathy. 'DERRICK GROVES is the only inmate i dont blame for what he did to qo to jail i hope he neva qet cauqht,' one X user wrote. 'I pray Derrick Groves is never found …safe travels!' another posted. Another X user shared the hashtags '#StayFreeWoo #Groves #JusticeForKimGroves.' The DA's office did not have any comment on the social media support for Groves. He indicated, however, that any suggestion that Groves' crimes were in response to or retaliation for his grandmother's death is 'newly generated urban myth.' CNN's Zoe Sottile, Sarah Dewberry and Karina Tsui contributed to this report.
Time Out
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Wave Hill is throwing a four-day party with free garden tours, live jazz and more
If your weekend plans don't already include a brass band, flower-making and hand-rolled ice cream—all under the glow of a Hudson River sunset— Wave Hill is about to change that. From Thursday, June 5 through Sunday, June 8, the Bronx 's beloved public garden is throwing itself a 60th anniversary bash that's anything but stuffy. Over four packed days, the 28-acre estate will be abloom with live music, interactive workshops, storytelling, open-air cocktails and the kind of family programming that makes kids and grown-ups equally giddy. The historic garden, perched high above the Hudson, has long been a haven for artists, nature lovers and anyone needing a moment of serenity (Mark Twain and the Roosevelts were early fans). But this celebratory weekend goes big by channeling Wave Hill's roots in creativity and community with an immersive lineup of art, ecology and pure summer joy. Kicking things off are hands-on nature walks, yoga on the lawn, woodworking demos and the rare chance to 'Meet the Gardeners' behind the blooming masterpieces. As day slips into golden hour, garden-inspired cocktails and twilight jazz take over. Saturday night hits a high note with a performance by Brass Queens, Brooklyn's all-female brass band bringing NOLA energy to the Bronx. Families can expect giant paper flower-making and pollinator rambles, while foodies can snag complimentary scoops from OnlyRareNYC, the city's first Black-owned hand-rolled ice cream biz. And yes, it tastes even better with sweeping views and a side of sunshine. The anniversary also marks the debut of four contemporary art exhibitions that weave together flora and feeling. Trees, we breathe explores our bond with the arboreal world through sculpture and sound. Bronx artist Sonja John fills the Sunroom with Floral Larceny, a luminous ode to diasporic plants. Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya transforms the Sun Porch with a suspended silk-and-brocade spirit-house, while outdoors, You're Soaking in It! invites dreamy communal rest amid the greenery. All the aforementioned activities are free with admission unless noted on the Wave Hill website. Admission to the garden is free on Thursdays, and you can get discounted tickets to attend the 60th anniversary celebrations on Saturday and Sunday by purchasing by June 6. (As always, admission is free for Wave Hill members.) In a city that often forgets to slow down, Wave Hill's anniversary is a reminder: Beauty blooms best when you take time to notice it.
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Soul icon Irma Thomas on the Stones, segregation and survival: ‘Restaurants refused to serve us – we lived on sardines and crackers'
Irma Thomas greets me at the front door of the ranch house she shares with her husband and manager Emile Jackson. For a singer celebrated as the 'Soul Queen of New Orleans', I'm somewhat surprised her home isn't more, well, palatial. Graceland this isn't. Although Thomas, 84, has enjoyed hit records, Grammy awards, international tours, critical praise and the loyal devotion of her home city, she has never experienced the largesse that comes with sustained stardom. Instead, she has her health, a 50-year marriage, great-grandchildren and a stunning new album, Audience With the Queen, created with Galactic, the esteemed New Orleans electro-funkers. Thomas is one of the last of the best, an African American soul singer who, forged by gospel, overcame discrimination and a brutal music industry to achieve enduring greatness. She scored her first hit aged 18 in 1959 but never enjoyed the huge success of her contemporaries Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight. No matter: everyone from the Rolling Stones to Otis Redding and Beverley Knight has sung her songs (and praises). Bonnie Raitt, now a close friend, says of Thomas, 'She's a legend. She's as good today as she was the day she came out of the church singing.' I mention to Thomas the praise that now trails her and she cocks an eyebrow and says: 'I guess it's nice people say such things while I'm still here.' Irma, I'm learning, isn't one for blandishments. That said, when I tell her Audience With the Queen is a stunning return after a 17-year absence she agrees. 'The guys in Galactic had been talking about doing an album with me for a while,' Thomas recalls, as we settle in a living room decorated with her many awards. 'I had to say: 'Listen, I am not getting any younger – let's do this!' And, to their credit, they made a really good job of it.' Indeed they did; Audience With the Queen blends electronic arrangements with Thomas's gospel-steeped vocal to create yet another feather in her crown. 'I'm finally getting my flowers. About time too.' Born Irma Lee in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, in 1941, she and her family shifted to New Orleans when she was an infant. 'I grew up in the city but, between age four and nine, I lived with my relatives, real country people. I used to help pick strawberries on my uncle's farm; I ate as many as I picked! That kind of upbringing has held me in good stead over the years.' Getting pregnant aged 14 curtailed Thomas's education and a shotgun marriage to her child's father quickly collapsed. Aged 15 she was a solo mother who worked as dishwasher. By the age of 18 she had remarried, given birth to two more children and become a waitress at the Pimlico club where Tommy Ridgely, a band leader who helped shape the city's R&B sound, held a residency. Thomas, never lacking in confidence, told Ridgely she was a better singer than his band's vocalist. He invited Thomas on stage to prove herself and she seized the opportunity. While the club's patrons applauded her, Thomas was fired for neglecting her job. Sensing greatness, Ridgley took her to Joe Ruffino at Ron Records. There she recorded the storming R&B tune Don't Mess With My Man, written by Dorothy LaBostrie, who had co-written Tutti Frutti for Little Richard. 'I'd gone from a dishwasher earning 50 cents a night, to a waitress on $5 a night, so when I was offered $50 a night to be a singer, I signed on!' Fronting Ridgley's band, Thomas worked one-nighters across the south and the eastern seaboard, playing the chitlin' circuit (the name given to a loose network of Black-owned clubs) and white college fraternity parties. It was a hard grind, made more difficult by segregation's privations and raucous audiences: one night a drunken student accidentally kicked Thomas's microphone, knocking out her front teeth. 'Segregation meant there were often no hotels we could stay in, so we'd drive four or five hours back to New Orleans,' she says. 'Restaurants wouldn't serve us, so we lived on sardines and crackers. That's the way things were.' Thomas isn't one to moan. Instead she speaks directly, refusing to suffer fools or tolerate dishonesty. Unhappy with her royalty payments, Thomas refused to continue recording for Ruffino. She would begin a working relationship with the famed pianist, songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint, and go on to sign for Imperial Records in Los Angeles, where she began recording with a crack team of session musicians and arrangers now celebrated collectively as the 'Wrecking Crew'. Her magnificent run of 45s included I Wish Somebody Would Care, a song Thomas wrote, which became her biggest US hit. 'I wrote that because my then husband really resented me pursuing my career as a singer and made things extremely difficult. I was on the verge of doing something that would have sent me to prison … instead, I left him.' She continued to pursue her career thanks in part to 'loving parents who did a lot of babysitting and a network of supportive women. Having children kept me grounded; I couldn't go out to party or take drugs because I had to get home to my kids.' In 1964, she recorded Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand), a song co-written by the young Randy Newman. Its one of Thomas's most striking vocal performances, her mournful voice conveying an eerie beauty, yet it struggled to No 52 on the US Top 100. The British Invasion of the American charts was under way, with US pop radio now championing Anglo bands, many of whom were singing songs by Black American artists, rather than the originals. A case in point being when the Rolling Stones covered Time Is on My Side, the B-side of Anyone Who Knows What Love Is, only weeks after Thomas's version was released. The Stones' version is effective, although Jagger copied Irma's vocal, ad-libs and all, in its entirety – a pale imitation. 'I didn't mind the Stones recording the song,' says Thomas, 'what I did resent was when audiences would request I 'sing the Stones song'. Well, no thank you. So I stopped singing it.' A subsequent UK tour in 1966 was badly organised and saw Thomas lose 15lbs and her voice for three months. 'I had no one looking after things for me and found myself singing night after night – and some matinees – for around three weeks. I had a very basic British backing band and went everywhere in an old van. It was exhausting and debilitating. I was told by a voice doctor that if I ever wanted to sing again I couldn't speak for three months. So I didn't. Which was really difficult, especially when you have small children.' The 60s weren't swinging for Thomas. Instead her career went into freefall: dropped by Liberty Records, she forlornly sought work as a backing vocalist on LA recording sessions. Thomas settled in Oakland, California, got a job in a department store, singing only on weekends. 'Singing is my vocation,' Thomas says, 'but I was a mom first and needed to create a stable environment for my kids. And seeing them get an education encouraged me to go to night school. Later on I got a business diploma, which helped me negotiate contracts.' While she recorded for Chess and Atlantic Records, as well as working with maverick soul songwriter-producer Jerry 'Swamp Dogg' Williams Jr, her career was constantly sabotaged by music industry machinations. 'Music's a tough industry,' she says, 'especially if you won't sign whatever they put in front of you. I didn't want people to own me, so they called me 'difficult'. Well, maybe I am. Better that than being taken advantage of.' By the mid-70s, Thomas determined that New Orleans at least still appreciated its Soul Queen. Returning home led to marrying Emile Jackson – 'third time lucky', she says of the man who is still her husband today – and getting plenty of work. Her career rebirth began in 1983 when UK label Ace issued Time Is on My Side, a compilation of her 1961-64 singles. The album sold strongly and introduced Thomas to a new generation – British northern soul fans started to seek out the Lion's Den, a club she and Emile ran – while Jim Jarmusch chose Thomas's It's Raining to soundtrack Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi's affecting waltz in Down By Law. Then Scott Billington of Rounder Records, a Massachusetts label dedicated to American folk/roots music, approached Thomas about recording new material. From 1986 to 2008, Billington produced 10 albums that re-established Thomas as one of America's finest contemporary vocalists, and saved her from what she describes as 'a life singing It's Raining every night in a hotel bar'. Almost 20 years ago, Hurricane Katrina decimated much of New Orleans. Thomas and her husband were out of town when the hurricane hit, flooding their home and ruining the Lion's Den. Recorded mere months after Katrina, Thomas's 2006 album After the Rain won a Grammy. But, after 2008's majestic Simply Grand album, she again found herself without a record label, while the collapse of CD sales meant the music industry again declined to back a singer who was written off as 'old school'. 'I don't feel bitter about things,' says Thomas. 'I'm established, and I only sing when I want for the fee that Emile insists is right. If no one wanted a new Irma Thomas album so be it.' Galactic, who command a wide US audience, determined the world did want a new Irma Thomas album. 'I'm used to recording with musicians in the studio,' notes Thomas, 'while Galactic programme the beats and music then got me in to sing. A strange experience for me, but it worked. I never previously considered myself a protest singer but, things being the way they are, means I got to voice my displeasure.' Thomas is talking about Lady Liberty, a song where she sings: 'How long can history repeat itself, Lord we need some help / Time to shuffle these cards that we've been dealt and free ourselves.' Lady Liberty, I suggest, nails Trump's America. 'I don't even want to say his name,' she replies, her voice indignant. 'I grew up with segregation and now he and his people are trying to turn back time and ruin everything good about this nation. I am furious.' The 'flowers' she mentioned have been blooming in recent years: Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand) became a recurring motif in Black Mirror, giving Thomas 90m streams and sparking interest in her back catalogue. 'The first thing I knew about it was when I got a phone call saying: 'Irma, there's a big cheque coming your way.' I ain't never heard of Black Mirror but I'm sure glad it exists.' There have been two documentaries about her life and an authorised biography will be published next year. Then at New Orleans' Jazzfest 2024 festival, headliners the Rolling Stones invited Thomas to join them on stage to perform Time Is on My Side. Watching the veteran Brits and the Soul Queen of New Orleans unite is a treat – Jagger tells the audience that the song they're about to perform was first sung by Thomas in 1964, then they trade off verses with aplomb. Were you happy as you look when singing with the Stones, I ask her. 'I was,' she says. 'Because Mick told the crowd that I did it first and they learned it from me. He gave me respect. That's all I ask for. I've been through a lot since 1964, so it felt good to get that kind of acknowledgment in front of their audience. Real good.' My audience with the queen is up: Thomas wants to have lunch with Emile, read the Bible, watch a gameshow and prepare for headlining the French Quarter festival the next day, performing with a voice that Raitt says is still as 'beautiful, sultry and powerful as it was on her first records'. On stage and off, time remains on Irma Thomas's side. Audience With the Queen is out now on Tchuop-Zilla Records. Garth Cartwright travelled to New Orleans as a guest of Explore Louisiana.
