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Authorities capture three more escaped inmates

Authorities capture three more escaped inmates

Featured, USA2 months ago8 Views

Three more of the 10 inmates who busted out of a New Orleans facility in a high-profile jailbreak were recaptured in two different states, authorities said on May 26.

Lenton Vanburen, Leo Tate, and Jermaine Donald were the latest escapees arrested after the brazen jailbreak earlier this month, Louisiana State Police announced on Facebook on May 26. The trio is expected to face additional charges related to the escape, officials said.

“The Louisiana State Police is proud of the strong partnerships we share with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners,” the state police said on Facebook. “This is a clear example of how effective collaboration and open communication between agencies can lead to successful outcomes!”

Vanburen, 26, was found in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by the Baton Rouge Police Department, authorities said. The Texas Department of Public Safety arrested Tate, 31, and Donald, 42, in Walker County, Texas, according to Louisiana authorities.

No additional details about the arrests were immediately released. Two escapees — Derrick Groves and Antoine Massey — remain at large.

The trio’s arrest comes over a week after 10 inmates busted out of the Orleans Parish jail on May 16. Authorities said then that the group pulled open faulty sliding cell doors, tore out a bathroom to create a hole in the jail, and then climbed a wall to escape.

The group escaped in the early morning hours, and three were recaptured by the end of the same day. Two more were nabbed a week later.

Authorities announced awards of up to $20,000 per inmate for information leading to the arrests of the remaining escapees.

Authorities initially suspected that other individuals helped with their escape from the prison. At least 13 people have been arrested, including a fellow inmate, for collaborating with the escapees.

Police announced six arrests on May 26. Diamond White, 21, was arrested for helping Massey, according to state police spokesperson Sergeant Kate Stegall. The following were arrested for helping Vanburen; Lenika Vanburen, 28, Tyshanea Randolph, 27, Patricia Vanburen, 18, Angel McKay, 41, and Lenton Vanburen Sr., 48. All were booked into the Plaquemines Parish jail, according to Stegall.

Trevon Williams, who did not escape from the New Orleans jail, was charged with 10 counts of being a principal to simple escape, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced on May 23. The same day, the New Orleans Police Department said it arrested Emmitt Weber on a charge of accessory after the fact of simple escape.

Weber was one of four people questioned after investigators “combed through surveillance footage, connecting crucial dots in the search,” the police department added.

“As I promised when we initiated our investigation, we will hold absolutely everyone who contributed any role to the prison break in New Orleans accountable,” Murrill said.

Others arrested in connection with the prison escape include jail maintenance worker, Sterling Williams, Casey Smith, Connie Weeden, Cortnie Harris, and Corvanntay Baptiste. Weber, 28, Smith, 30, Weeden, 59, Harris, 32, and Baptiste, 28, are accused of being in contact with and helping the escapees.

Smith, Weeden, Harris, and Baptiste are women.

Sterling Williams, 33, is charged with being a principal to simple escape and malfeasance in office. Murrill said Sterling Williams admitted that he complied with a demand from one of the inmates to shut off the water to a cell, allowing escapees to rip out a toilet and sink unit and climb through the hole in the wall that was created.

Michael Kennedy, a lawyer for Sterling Williams, told USA TODAY that his client argues he didn’t know the men were planning to escape, and shut the water off because an inmate had clogged a toilet.

Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams told USA TODAY the escape appeared to be an “inside job” and that he worried for the safety of his staff.

Jason Williams said he is especially worried for two colleagues who tried the second-degree murder case against Groves, one of two remaining at-large escapees.

The two colleagues left the state for their safety, according to Jason Williams. He would not say if his office had received any credible threats.

“They’re young. They’ve got families,” Jason Williams added. “They don’t deserve to be in a situation.”

Some victims and witnesses in the cases against the escapees also “wanted to be relocated,” Jason Williams said. He worries the dangers following the escape will chill people’s willingness to testify and serve on juries in other cases.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci and Chris Kenning, USA TODAY

(This story was updated to add new information.)