Latest news with #jailbreak
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.
Fox News
14 hours ago
- General
- Fox News
Orleans Parish DA says sheriff's office 'compromised' amid lawsuit, jailbreak investigation
The district attorney in New Orleans fired back at the local sheriff who sought his recusal from the investigation into a massive 10-man escape from the county's jail, escalating a two-week war of words between the two. After Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, whose department runs the jail, filed a lawsuit seeking to bar Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams from investigating the jailbreak, Williams made clear his thoughts on the sheriff. "After this jailbreak, jail leadership should have immediately requested an independent forensic processing of that scene," he said Thursday evening in a media release. "It's hard not to see this agency as anything but compromised until any bad actors have been identified and rooted out." "The Sheriff's Office's time and resources were clearly misspent this week, and once again, this office finds itself two steps behind the moment," the release continued. "We, along with our other law enforcement partners, will remain focused on the crisis at hand: recapturing every individual involved in this escape, understanding the systemic failures or individual actions that made it possible, and implementing meaningful corrective measures." Hutson filed a motion in a New Orleans court after what she called "ongoing attacks" on the sheriff's office in "an unprecedented display of political self-serving bias," according to ABC News. The sheriff noted that Williams is also backing her opponent in an upcoming reelection bid to remain the parish's top cop. Last week, Hutson suspended campaign operations to focus on the breakout. The matter was settled out of court on Thursday in a meeting with Orleans Parish Criminal Judge Nandi Campbell. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill's office will continue to lead the investigation into how the men, including a four-time killer and a serial escapee, broke out of their cell and hopped the jail's barbed-wire fence to freedom on May 16. "I will continue to conduct an independent investigation into how the ten violent inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center on Friday, May 16," Murrill said in an X post on Thursday night, adding that she will provide recommendations to relevant government entities to ensure such an escape never occurs again. Friday marks two weeks since 10 inmates escaped from the Orleans Parish Justice Center in New Orleans. Two inmates, including a four-time convicted killer, are still on the loose after the jailbreak. Derrick Groves was convicted in October of a double-homicide stemming from a shooting during Mardi Gras in 2018. After his conviction, he pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in unrelated cases and was scheduled to be sentenced in July. He was being held in the jail until his sentencing. Antoine Massey, a four-time escapee known locally for consistently evading law enforcement, also remains free. On Thursday, Crime Stoppers and the FBI both increased their rewards for information leading to the arrests of the pair. Each man now has a $50,000 bounty on his head. The eight other escapees have been caught as local, state and federal law enforcement continue to pour resources into ending the manhunt for good. Fourteen people have been arrested for assisting the escapees either before or after they broke out. Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Hutson, Williams, Murrill and the New Orleans Criminal District Court for comment.
CBS News
a day ago
- General
- CBS News
Cash reward hiked to $50,000 as manhunt continues for 2 New Orleans jail escapees still at large
New Orleans — As the search continues for the last two New Orleans jail escapees who are still at large, several agencies have pitched in to increase the cash reward for information leading to their arrests. The reward has been hiked to $50,000 per escapee, authorities announced Thursday, a hefty increase from the $20,000 amount that had been in place for more than a week following the brazen May 16 escape of 10 inmates from the Orleans Justice Center. Eight of the 10 have been captured. One of the men still at large — Derrick Groves — was convicted of murder for the shooting deaths of Jamar Robinson and Byron Jackson in 2024. The other escapee — Antoine Massey — was being held on charges of domestic abuse involving strangulation prior to the jailbreak. Remaining 2 fugitives may have escaped Louisiana, official says Louisiana State Police Col. Robert Hodges said in a news conference Thursday that while he does not believe Groves or Massey have the resources to flee the U.S., they may have escaped Louisiana thanks to the help from other potential accomplices, and given the amount of time that has passed. Hodges also said Massey and Groves may have also had time to change their appearance, but that time has likely taken a toll on them, adding, "they are tired, they are running out of resources." Officials hold a news conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 29, 2025, to provide updates on the investigation into the escape of 10 inmates from a New Orleans jail on May 16, 2025. CBS News Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill had told CBS News in an interview Wednesday that the two may be in other cities. "They can keep running, but they can't hide forever," Murrill said. Authorities said even some family members of the 10 escapees have called in with tips to help track down the escapees. "Some of you might be reporting a friend, a loved one, a relative," said Jonathan Tapp, special agent in charge of the FBI New Orleans Field Office, during the news conference. "It might not be easy." Hodges dismissed concerns flagged by some members of the public that family members of the escapees could try and take advantage of the reward system to split the money with the inmates themselves. He commended those family members who he said have called in helpful tips. Authorities have received more than 700 tips According to Darlene Cusanza, head of the nonprofit Crimestoppers Greater New Orleans office, three tipsters so far are set to receive awards for their help in arresting three of the fugitives and some alleged accomplices. One person has already been paid at least $10,000, and two more people are set to be paid soon, Cusanza said at the news conference. More than 700 tips from the public have poured in since the May 16 escape, Cusanza said, and the Crimestoppers office has had to open up four more phone lines to accommodate all of the calls they are receiving. So far, at least 14 people have been arrested on allegations they helped the inmates either before or after the escape, including one employee of the jail. From top left, DKenan Dennis, Gary Price, Robert Moody, Kendell Myles and Corey Boyd are seen in a combination of photos provided by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. From bottom left, Lenton VanBuren, Jermaine Donald, Antoine Massey, Derrick Groves and Leo Tate are seen. Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office via AP Investigation ongoing into how escape was carried out Authorities said that in the early morning hours of May 16, the 10 inmates broke out of the New Orleans jail by ripping a toilet from the wall of a jail cell to which they were not assigned, cutting steel bars, and digging out a hole in the wall behind the toilet. The men allegedly crawled out of the hole to a loading dock, scaled an exterior concrete wall of the jail complex and darted across a freeway to freedom. Outside the Orleans Justice Center jail on May 29, 2025. Ten inmates escaped from the jail on May 16. CBS News The men even took the time to write taunting messages on the wall of the cell before they made a run for it, including, "we innocent," and another misspelled, "to easy LOL." Jail staff didn't notice the inmates were gone for more than seven hours, and it took a few more hours after that for the public to be notified. Even New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said that, on the morning of the escape, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson didn't notify her about what had occurred until after she saw media reports online during a meeting with other managers in her department. "We're all sitting here, and (a staff member) said, 'Have you heard anything about an escape?'," Kirkpatrick recalled in an interview with CBS News. "We were like, 'No we don't know anything about escape.' And then one of the other chiefs picked up his phone and said, 'It's already in the media.'" The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office has faced sharp criticism for its handling of the investigation into how the escape occurred. Hutson has alleged that for years she had been asking the city for funding to make critical upgrades to the correctional facility, but that she had been turned down repeatedly. A 33-year-old maintenance worker at the jail has been arrested and charged with helping the inmates escape, and Murrill has said more employee arrests could be coming. Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams says his office is combing through jail call logs and cross-referencing fingerprints and DNA samples to ascertain who else working at the jail may have been involved. The Louisiana Attorney General's Office is now leading the investigation into failures at the facility that allowed the escape to happen in the first place. The Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office has also been a part of that investigation. "There's so much that's been troubling," Williams said in an interview with CBS News Monday. "Everything's on the table. I think an unprecedented crisis like this, has unprecedented results." Meanwhile, officials with the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Louisiana State Police and the New Orleans Police Department said Thursday they remain laser-focused on getting Massey and Groves back in cuffs. As Kirkpatrick put it in her interview with CBS News, "I'm not out to finger point. I'm out with a mission."
