NEW ORLEANS, La. () — In a bold overnight breakout, ten men escaped from a New Orleans jail on Friday by making their way through a hole behind a toilet and then climbing a wall, prompting an intense search effort to capture the escapees.
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This photo combo shows inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail, from left top: Keith A Lewis, Dkenan Dennis, Gary C Price, bottom from left, Robert Moody, Kendell Myles, Corey E Boyd. (Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office via AP) -
This photo combo shows inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail, from left, Lenton Vanburen Jr, Jermaine Donald, Antonine T Massey, Derrick D. Groves, and Leo Tate Sr. (Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office via AP)
After the escape, nine of the fugitives, some of whom are facing murder charges, are still at large. The local sheriff suspects that individuals within the department may have assisted in their escape.
A law enforcement photograph shared with The Associated Press reveals the hole behind a toilet in the cell through which the men made their escape. Above the hole, messages are scrawled, including “To Easy LoL” with an arrow pointing to the opening.
The absence of the 10 men, who also utilized facility deficiencies that officials have long complained about in their escape, went unnoticed for hours. It was not until a routine morning headcount, more than seven hours after the men fled the facility, that law enforcement learned of the escape.
Soon after, one of the fugitives, Kendall Myles, 20, was apprehended after a brief foot chase through the French Quarter.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said the men 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 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. and that 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 a.m. 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.Who are the fugitives?
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.
