The sheriff of New Orleans County said Friday that ten prisoners got out of jail by breaking through a wall behind a toilet, probably with help. Three of the guys have only been found so far.
At a news conference Friday afternoon, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said, “We have evidence that these detainees got help in their escape from people inside our department.”
They broke through a wall at the New Orleans Orleans Justice Center and then left through a door used to bring in supplies around 1 a.m., climbed a wall, and ran across the interstate, Hutson said. A picture from the sheriff’s office shows the words “To Easy LoL” written on the wall above the hole, along with an arrow pointing in that direction.
The escape wasn’t found until 8:30 a.m., hours later, when staff noticed they were missing during a normal head count, according to the sheriff.
Prisoners are usually locked down at 10:30 p.m., but the prisoners were able to get out because the locks on their rooms weren’t working right, officials said. “These facilities have flaws that make people worry about their safety,” Hutson said.
The sheriff’s office said Friday evening that three jail employees were put on leave without pay after the escape until the outcome of an internal probe. No one seems to have explained why they were punished.
The 10 prisoners who got away have been named by the sheriff’s office: Corey Boyd, Dkenan Dennis, Jermaine Donald, Derrick Groves, Antoine Massey, Robert Moody, Kendell Myles, Gary Price, Leo Tate, and Lenton Vanburen.
There are a lot of different charges against the prisoners, whose ages run from 19 to 42. A number of people have been charged with murder. Among the other charges are aggravated attack with a firearm, false imprisonment with a weapon, armed robbery with a firearm, and battery on a family member.
At first, officials said that 11 people had gotten out of the building, but later they said they were wrong and that only 10 had gotten out. Hutson said that even though the prisoner had been moved to a different cell, the system had not been changed to reflect this.
It was deputies who found Myles hiding under a car in a hotel parking lot and caught him. He was one of the prisoners who had gotten away. Louisiana State Police say Myles ran away when police tried to talk to him, but he was quickly caught.
Records from Orleans Parish show that Myles was charged with attempted second-degree murder in the past. From what the sheriff’s office said on Facebook, he is now being held on a new charge of simple escape.
The sheriff’s office said Friday night that Moody, another escapee, was caught after a Crime Stoppers tip. He had been charged with severe second-degree battery and other crimes before.
The sheriff’s office said that Dennis, the third person, was also caught and is in jail. Records from Orleans Parish show that he was charged with violent robbery with a gun in the past.
“You can run, but you can’t hide.” In a post on social media Friday night, Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana said, “We will hunt you all down.”