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Inmates still at large a week after New Orleans escape: What we know

Inmates still at large a week after New Orleans escape: What we know

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A week after 10 inmates at a New Orleans jail escaped through a hole in a wall behind a toilet, half of them are still on the run and at least four people have been charged with helping them.

The inmates escaped in the early morning hours of May 16, and three were recaptured by the end of the day. A week later, two more have been nabbed but five are still loose, including some who have been charged with murder. Authorities have announced awards of up to $20,000 per inmate for information leading to their arrests.

In a stern warning on May 23, the Louisiana State Police said anyone who helps the escaped inmates will be caught and arrested.

“The decision is simple – assist law enforcement in locating them and receive reward money, or be arrested with a potentially high bond. The choice is yours!” Louisiana State Police said in a post to social media.

A 59-year-old woman from Slidell, Louisiana, Connie Weeden, was arrested and accused of being in contact with escapee Jermaine Donald, who is still at large, both before and after the jailbreak, Louisiana State Police said on May 22. Weeden allegedly sent money through an app to Donald.

The inmates still at large are Donald, Derrick Groves, Leo Tate, Lenton Vanburen and Antoine Massey. Donald, Vanburen and Groves have all been charged with second-degree murder, officials said.

Robert Moody, Dkenan Dennis, Kendall Myles, Gary Price and Corey Boyd are back in custody.

Here’s what we know:

4 people accused of helping inmates with jailbreak

In addition to Weeden, three other people have also been arrested and charged with helping the inmates.

A maintenance worker at the jail, 33-year-old Sterling Williams, was charged with multiple counts of being a principal to simple escape and malfeasance in office. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Williams extensively colluded with the inmates. Murrill said Williams admitted to investigators that he complied with a demand from one of the inmates to shut off the water to a cell, allowing the escapees to rip out a toilet and sink unit and climb through the hole in the wall that was created.

An arrest affidavit for the maintenance worker said one of the inmates threatened to stab him with a “shank” − a homemade knife.

Michael Kennedy, a lawyer for 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.

Two other women, Cortnie Harris and Corvanntay Baptiste, have also been charged with assisting inmates. Louisiana State Police said Harris, 32, was in phone contact with one of the inmates before the escape and provided transportation to New Orleans locations to two fugitives afterward. Baptiste 38, was in phone and social media contact with escapee Corey Boyd, who was captured May 20, and helped get him food as he hid, police said.

Orleans Parish DA worries about safety of staff

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

Jason Williams said two colleagues who left the state tried the second-degree murder case against Groves. Williams would not say if his office had gotten any credible threats. But the potential dangers have led the two attorneys to flee for their safety.

“They’re young. They’ve got families,” he said. “They don’t deserve to be in a situation.”

Some of the victims and witnesses in cases against 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.

Read more here.

-Chris Kenning, USA TODAY

Another inmate escaped a Louisiana jail for 2nd time

While the manhunt for the five inmates continues, another inmate at a Louisiana jail escaped on May 22, authorities said.

Tra’Von Johnson, 19, escaped at about 4:30 p.m. when another inmate helped lift him over the perimeter fence at Tangipahoa Parish Jail, about 70 miles away from New Orleans. His absence wasn’t discovered until about 10 p.m., when the sheriff’s office “received a call from the public questioning whether Johnson was still in custody.”

Johnson was also one of four inmates who escaped the jail a year ago, the sheriff’s office said.

Who are the inmates still on the run?

Jermaine Donald, 42, was charged with second-degree murder, according to parish records. The governor’s office said he also faced charges of aggravated battery and possession of a firearm. He pleaded not guilty in April 2024, the Times-Picayune/NOLA.com reported.
Derrick Groves, 27, was convicted of two charges of second-degree murder and two charges of attempted second-degree murder in October in connection with a shooting during Mardi Gras in 2018, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office. Groves has been awaiting sentencing on a manslaughter charge since October, according to a news release from the governor’s office. He also faces a charge of battery against a correctional facility employee, the Associated Press reported, citing court records.
Antoine T. Massey, 32, is charged with domestic abuse involving strangulation and theft of a motor vehicle, according to Orleans Parish records. There also is a warrant for his arrest in St. Tammany Parish for second-degree rape, second-degree kidnapping, domestic abuse involving strangulation and violation of a protective order involving battery stemming from an incident in November, a spokesperson for the parish sheriff’s office told USA TODAY.
Leo Tate, 31, was charged with burglary and drug possession, parish records show. The governor’s office said Tate also was charged with theft of a motor vehicle and was sentenced in federal court for being a felon in possession of a firearm. NOLA.com reported Tate has also been sentenced to 10 years in prison for obstruction of justice, citing jail records.
Lenton Vanburen, 26, was arrested on charges of second-degree murder and armed robbery, New Orleans police said. Vanburen also faced charges of possession of suboxone, an opioid often used to treat addiction, and battery of a correctional officer, according to parish records.

Contributing: John Bacon, Thao Nguyen, Jorge L. Ortiz, and N’dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY

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