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The Independent
an hour ago
- General
- The Independent
A growing number of New Orleans fugitives' friends and family arrested for aiding in jail escape
The 10 men who escaped from a New Orleans jail more than two weeks ago by cutting out a hole behind a toilet received help from at least 14 people, many of them friends and family who provided food, cash, transport and shelter according to court documents. Records reviewed by The Associated Press show how some of the fugitives received aid before and after their escape — including from a number of people named in police reports but not yet facing charges. A former jail employee is accused of driving escapee Lenton Vanburen to a relative's home and helping him FaceTime family the day of the escape, while another friend later offered him a hiding place in a vacant apartment he had been hired to repaint. Others sent money via apps, lied to authorities during interrogation and messaged or called the fugitives, police say. Some are now held on bonds $1 million or higher and most face the felony charge of accessory after the fact. In a city with an entrenched mistrust of the criminal justice system, authorities on Thursday raised the reward to $50,000 per fugitive. They stressed that friends and family are key to capturing the two remaining escapees, convicted murderer Derrick Groves and Antoine Massey, who faces kidnapping and rape charges. 'We understand that some of you might be reporting a friend, a loved one, a relative and albeit not easy, it is critical to your safety and the safety of the public that you report them,' Jonathan Tapp, special agent in charge of FBI New Orleans, said Thursday. Former jail employee appears linked to escape After the audacious escape in the early hours of May 16, a woman who police described as 'associated' with Groves 'picked up' and transported escapee Vanburen to a relative's residence, the documents show. She then video-called Vanburen's sisters, who came to meet him. This woman — who has not been charged with aiding in the escape — shares the same name as a former Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office employee, according to court records. In 2023, that employee was arrested for bringing a folding knife and a bag of Cheetos containing tobacco and marijuana into the jail. The charges were dropped in part due to the woman's lack of criminal history and she 'successfully completed' a pretrial diversion program, the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office told The Associated Press. The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office did not respond to request for comment. In a text message to an AP reporter, the woman denied bringing in contraband or aiding fugitives. Separately, authorities arrested a jail plumber they say helped the men escape, but his attorney maintains he was just trying to unclog a toilet. Phone records aid in arrests Several escapees, including Massey, relied on internet phone services to communicate with accomplices and 'avoid detection" by not leaving a trail of cellular signals, police reports say. Escapee Corey Boyd used an internet phone service to message several contacts seeking money and access to their iCloud accounts, threatening to kill one person if they did not comply, court records show. The FBI reviewed months of calls from Boyd's 'top caller' while incarcerated. They then found a brief call from a new phone number the night after the escape and used that to help track down Boyd. They discovered that Boyd's aunt was messaging him on Instagram to help him get food as hid in the apartment where a SWAT team captured him May 20. A victim of abuse arrested as accomplice One of the women accused of helping Massey suffered from years of physical abuse from him, court records show. The woman, who had previously filed a protective order against Massey after he attempted to strangle her, was aware of his planned escape and later misled authorities, police say. She exchanged messages with Massey's 31-year-old sister saying they hoped he "never gets caught." Authorities staked out the New Orleans home of Massey's sister but a search six days after the escape turned up empty-handed. Police learned Massey had been inside the home before the raid and altered and deleted evidence on his sister's phone. Court records show police accuse Massey's sister of lying to them, slowing down the manhunt and forcing them to lose 'critical days and hours' in the search. Authorities appeal to public for help At least seven of the people facing felony charges for aiding the fugitives have ties to Lenton Vanburen, Jr. according to authorities. After alerting two of his sisters by prison phone in the hours before his escape, he instructed they contact 'my girl' and provide her with a 'clean phone' so the two could communicate. The woman identified by police as Vanburen's love interest told The Associated Press she never received the phone and denied involvement in the escape plans. Vanburen's sisters met up with him the night of his escape at a family member's residence where he was able to shower, change clothes and was given toiletries. Another family member later reportedly took him to a relative's home in Mississippi. Vanburen was ultimately captured in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Monday and two men arrested this week were accused of helping him find shelter in a hotel — paid for in cash — and an apartment undergoing renovation. The Baton Rouge court system had no record of their legal representation. In another case, a 59-year-old Louisiana woman is accused of sending cash to fugitive Jermaine Donald, a family friend, according to her attorney. Lindsey Hortenstine, communications director for the Orleans Parish Public Defenders' office, said that most of the people arrested in connection with helping the fugitives have not yet secured attorneys. Louisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel Robert Hodges said tips from friends and family remain essential to locating the remaining fugitives. 'They're tired, they're looking over their shoulder, looking for resources,' Hodges said. 'I think the advantage goes to law enforcement and we need the public's help to ensure that we keep that advantage.' ___
Associated Press
an hour ago
- General
- Associated Press
A growing number of New Orleans fugitives' friends and family arrested for aiding in jail escape
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The 10 men who escaped from a New Orleans jail more than two weeks ago by cutting out a hole behind a toilet received help from at least 14 people, many of them friends and family who provided food, cash, transport and shelter according to court documents. Records reviewed by The Associated Press show how some of the fugitives received aid before and after their escape — including from a number of people named in police reports but not yet facing charges. A former jail employee is accused of driving escapee Lenton Vanburen to a relative's home and helping him FaceTime family the day of the escape, while another friend later offered him a hiding place in a vacant apartment he had been hired to repaint. Others sent money via apps, lied to authorities during interrogation and messaged or called the fugitives, police say. Some are now held on bonds $1 million or higher and most face the felony charge of accessory after the fact. In a city with an entrenched mistrust of the criminal justice system, authorities on Thursday raised the reward to $50,000 per fugitive. They stressed that friends and family are key to capturing the two remaining escapees, convicted murderer Derrick Groves and Antoine Massey, who faces kidnapping and rape charges. 'We understand that some of you might be reporting a friend, a loved one, a relative and albeit not easy, it is critical to your safety and the safety of the public that you report them,' Jonathan Tapp, special agent in charge of FBI New Orleans, said Thursday. Former jail employee appears linked to escape After the audacious escape in the early hours of May 16, a woman who police described as 'associated' with Groves 'picked up' and transported escapee Vanburen to a relative's residence, the documents show. She then video-called Vanburen's sisters, who came to meet him. This woman — who has not been charged with aiding in the escape — shares the same name as a former Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office employee, according to court records. In 2023, that employee was arrested for bringing a folding knife and a bag of Cheetos containing tobacco and marijuana into the jail. The charges were dropped in part due to the woman's lack of criminal history and she 'successfully completed' a pretrial diversion program, the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office told The Associated Press. The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office did not respond to request for comment. In a text message to an AP reporter, the woman denied bringing in contraband or aiding fugitives. Separately, authorities arrested a jail plumber they say helped the men escape, but his attorney maintains he was just trying to unclog a toilet. Phone records aid in arrests Several escapees, including Massey, relied on internet phone services to communicate with accomplices and 'avoid detection' by not leaving a trail of cellular signals, police reports say. Escapee Corey Boyd used an internet phone service to message several contacts seeking money and access to their iCloud accounts, threatening to kill one person if they did not comply, court records show. The FBI reviewed months of calls from Boyd's 'top caller' while incarcerated. They then found a brief call from a new phone number the night after the escape and used that to help track down Boyd. They discovered that Boyd's aunt was messaging him on Instagram to help him get food as hid in the apartment where a SWAT team captured him May 20. A victim of abuse arrested as accomplice One of the women accused of helping Massey suffered from years of physical abuse from him, court records show. The woman, who had previously filed a protective order against Massey after he attempted to strangle her, was aware of his planned escape and later misled authorities, police say. She exchanged messages with Massey's 31-year-old sister saying they hoped he 'never gets caught.' Authorities staked out the New Orleans home of Massey's sister but a search six days after the escape turned up empty-handed. Police learned Massey had been inside the home before the raid and altered and deleted evidence on his sister's phone. Court records show police accuse Massey's sister of lying to them, slowing down the manhunt and forcing them to lose 'critical days and hours' in the search. Authorities appeal to public for help At least seven of the people facing felony charges for aiding the fugitives have ties to Lenton Vanburen, Jr. according to authorities. After alerting two of his sisters by prison phone in the hours before his escape, he instructed they contact 'my girl' and provide her with a 'clean phone' so the two could communicate. The woman identified by police as Vanburen's love interest told The Associated Press she never received the phone and denied involvement in the escape plans. Vanburen's sisters met up with him the night of his escape at a family member's residence where he was able to shower, change clothes and was given toiletries. Another family member later reportedly took him to a relative's home in Mississippi. Vanburen was ultimately captured in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Monday and two men arrested this week were accused of helping him find shelter in a hotel — paid for in cash — and an apartment undergoing renovation. The Baton Rouge court system had no record of their legal representation. In another case, a 59-year-old Louisiana woman is accused of sending cash to fugitive Jermaine Donald, a family friend, according to her attorney. Lindsey Hortenstine, communications director for the Orleans Parish Public Defenders' office, said that most of the people arrested in connection with helping the fugitives have not yet secured attorneys. Louisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel Robert Hodges said tips from friends and family remain essential to locating the remaining fugitives. 'They're tired, they're looking over their shoulder, looking for resources,' Hodges said. 'I think the advantage goes to law enforcement and we need the public's help to ensure that we keep that advantage.' ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Associated Press
4 hours ago
- General
- Associated Press
New Orleans DA pulls out of jailbreak investigation amid conflict of interest allegation
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Facing allegations of a conflict of interest, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams removed himself this week from a Louisiana Attorney General-led investigation into the massive jailbreak that saw 10 men escape a New Orleans jail earlier this month. Gov. Jeff Landry ordered an investigation into the jailbreak several days after the inmates escaped on May 16. Williams had initially described the inquiry as a 'joint effort' with the Attorney General Liz Murrill and toured the jail with her as part of the probe. Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson accused Williams' role in the investigation as being 'fueled by personal animus and political campaigning' according to a court filing earlier this week reviewed by The Associated Press. Williams denied these allegations. Earlier this year, Williams endorsed his employee Michelle Woodfork to replace Hutson as sheriff in 2026. Woodfork declined to comment. In a statement, Williams said the recusal motion had not been granted because there were 'no legal grounds to support it.' Judge Nandi Campbell, who received the motion for recusal, declined to comment. Williams and Hutson dispute the timeline and reasons for his withdrawal from the investigation. Williams said he removed himself due to its 'multi-jurisdictional nature' — citing a separate jailbreak that occurred earlier this month in another Louisiana parish — and has deferred to Murrill. Williams said his office engaged in the investigation 'to ensure that no evidence was lost or compromised' after the breakout. He criticized Hutson for not 'immediately' requesting an 'independent forensic processing' of the facility, where inmates had yanked open a cell door and crawled through a hole cut from behind a toilet. Authorities have arrested a maintenance worker for allegedly aiding in the escape. 'It's hard not to see this agency as anything but compromised until any bad actors have been identified and rooted out,' Williams said of the sheriff's office. At a press conference the day of the escape on May 16, Hutson said that she believed the timing of the jailbreak may have been politically motivated. Hutson's motion for recusal says that Williams' investigation had given an 'unfair advantage to his preferred candidate' and would be a 'strain' on the resources of the sheriff's office. Hutson's allegations against Williams come after local and state officials heaped criticism on Hutson's management of the jail and her office's hourslong delay in notifying authorities of the escape. While Hutson has sought to blame the escape on a lack of funding to help make urgent improvements to faulty locks and ailing jail infrastructure, city and state leaders have generally disputed this characterization. Murrill said in a Thursday statement that she is heading the investigation to provide 'accountability' and 'recommendations' to the state and the city 'to ensure that an escape like this never happens again.' Hutson said that she 'welcomes the oversight of the Attorney General's Office and remains fully committed to cooperating with all relevant authorities.' The Orleans Parish jail system, long plagued by dysfunction, has been under federal oversight since 2013. ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
New York Times
5 hours ago
- General
- New York Times
Skulls of 19 Black Americans Return to New Orleans After 150 Years in Germany
Sometime before Jan. 10, 1872, a young Black laborer named William Roberts checked himself into Charity Hospital in New Orleans. Just 23 years old, he was from Georgia and had a strong build, according to hospital records. His only recorded sickness was diarrhea. He was one of 19 Black patients who died at the hospital in December 1871 and January 1872, and whose skulls were sent to Germany to be studied by a doctor researching a now wholly discredited science that purported a correlation between the shape and size of a skull and a person's intellect and character. The skulls languished in Germany for about 150 years until Leipzig University contacted the city of New Orleans two years ago to repatriate them. They were returned to New Orleans this month, and the 19 people are being honored on Saturday morning with a jazz funeral before the skulls are interred. While the return of human remains from museum collections has become more common, the repatriation of these 19 Black cranial remains to New Orleans is believed to be the first major international restitution of the remains of Black Americans from Europe, according to Paul Wolff Mitchell, a researcher at the University of Amsterdam who studies the 19th century history of race and science in the United States and Europe. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Associated Press
7 hours ago
- Business
- Associated Press
VIATRIS 96 HOUR DEADLINE ALERT: Former Louisiana Attorney General and Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Remind Investors With Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against Viatris Inc.
NEW YORK & NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2025-- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ('KSF') and KSF partner, the former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until June 3, 2025 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Viatris Inc. ('Viatris' or 'the Company') (NasdaqGS: VTRS), if they purchased the Company's securities between August 8, 2024 and February 26, 2025, inclusive (the 'Class Period'). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. What You May Do If you purchased securities of Viatris and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( [email protected] ), or visit to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action by overseeing lead counsel with the goal of obtaining a fair and just resolution, you must request this position by application to the Court by June 3, 2025. About the Lawsuit Viatris and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On February 27, 2025, the Company announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2024, disclosing disappointing fiscal 2025 guidance, which the Company attributed to 'the expected financial impact from Indore facility warning letter and import alert.' On this news, the price of Viatris' shares fell from $11.24 per share on February 26, 2025. Viatris' stock price fell to $9.53 per share on February 27, 2025. The case is Quinn v. Viatris Inc., et al., No. 25-cv-466. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. This past year, KSF was ranked by SCAS among the top 10 firms nationally based upon total settlement value. KSF serves a variety of clients, including public and private institutional investors, and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana, Chicago, New Jersey, and a representative office in Luxembourg. TOP 10 Plaintiff Law Firms - According to ISS Securities Class Action Services To learn more about KSF, you may visit CONNECT WITH US: FaceBook || Instagram || YouTube || TikTok || LinkedIn View source version on CONTACT: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner [email protected] 1-877-515-1850 1100 Poydras St., Suite 960 New Orleans, LA 70163 KEYWORD: LOUISIANA NEW YORK UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LEGAL SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 05/30/2025 05:26 PM/DISC: 05/30/2025 05:25 PM
