NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Ten men who were incarcerated in a New Orleans jail broke out Friday in an audacious overnight escape that the local sheriff says may have involved members of their own department, utilizing facility deficiencies that officials long complained about.
The men escaped through a hole behind a toilet and scaled one of the prison walls. Their disappearance was not noticed for hours, until a Friday routine morning headcount. One of the fugitives was apprehended after a brief foot chase through the French Quarter, but the nine others — three of which are incarcerated on charge of second-degree murder — are still on the lam and considered dangerous.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said the fugitives were able to get out of the Orleans Justice Center because of “defective locks.” Hutson said she has continuously raised concerns about the locks to officials and, as recently as this week, advocated for money to fix the ailing infrastructure.
Hutson said there are indications that people inside her department who helped the fugitives escape.
“We do acknowledge there is no way people can get out of this facility without there being some type of lapse in security,” Hutson said of the jail, where she says 1,400 people are being held. “It’s almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help.”
Hutson said the 10 men “breached” a wall behind a toilet around 1 a.m. A photograph obtained by The Associated Press from law enforcement shows the opening in question. Above the hole are scrawled messages that include “To Easy LoL” with an arrow pointing at the gap.
Hutson said surveillance footage shows the men exiting through a loading dock door, scaling a wall and running across an interstate.
Authorities did not notice the men were missing until 8:30. Authorities initially said 11 had escaped, but at a Friday afternoon news conference said one man thought to have escaped was in a different cell.
The escapees range from 19 years old to 42. Most of the men are in their 20s.
One of the fugitives, Derrick Groves, was convicted on two charges of second-degree murder and two charges of attempted second-degree murder last year for his role in the 2018 Mardi Gras Day shootings of two men. He also faces a charge of battery against a correctional facility employee, court records show. In a press release, law enforcement warned that the fugitive may attempt to locate witnesses in the murder trial.
Another escapee, Corey Boyd, had pled not guilty to a pending second-degree murder charge.
Hutson said the police department is actively working with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to search for the fugitives.
Investigators are focusing on an opening inside a cell through which at least one escapee is believed to have broke out into a maintenance corridor, according to one current and one former law enforcement official who were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
“That’s how they escaped,” the current official said, adding investigators were reviewing surveillance footage that captured the jailbreak.
A former law enforcement official who worked in the jail for several years said such a small square opening would typically be covered by a sink and toilet that may have been removed in this case.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill called the escape “beyond unacceptable” and said local authorities had waited too long to inform the public.
“Someone clearly dropped the ball and there’s no excuse for this,” Murrill said in an emailed statement. “My office will do whatever it takes to determine how this happened and make sure that it won’t happen again.”
New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said her agency has put “a full court effort” to respond to the escape and are working with the FBI and U.S. marshals.
“It’s more than likely that someone had help and they are not running around in a jumpsuit — but if they are, you’re going to stand out,” she said.
Officers were focused on identifying and providing protection for people who may have testified in their cases or may be in danger. One family has been “removed” from their home, Kirkpatrick said.
“If there is anyone helping or harboring these escapees, you will be charged,” Kirkpatrick added.
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Associated Press writer Sara Cline contributed to this report.
