New surveillance footage from the Orleans Parish jail shows the moment ten detainees escaped from custody early Friday morning, sparking a massive manhunt, as officials said the escapees had inside help. Photo courtesy of Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office
May 16 (UPI) — New surveillance footage from the Orleans Parish jail shows the moment ten detainees escaped from custody early Friday morning, sparking a massive manhunt, as officials said the escapees had inside help.
The jail footage, published by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office on Facebook, appears to show one of the men using brute force before another detainee joins in. The men are then seen fleeing into the night air from the docks where supplies are brought into the jail.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement late Friday that investigators are still working to find nine of the men who escaped from the Orleans Justice Center and acknowledged the “lapses in security” that led to their escape.
“While the facility was placed on lockdown at 10:30 p.m. the night before the escape, the detainees were able to exit their cells due to defective locks and doors,” officials wrote in the Friday night update.
“At approximately 12:23 a.m., the detainees began tampering with a locked cell door, ultimately breaking it open.”
Authorities said that a staff member was present, but the detainees breached a wall behind a toilet in their housing unit, which was out of view, and exited around 1:01 a.m. before “scaling a wall” and running across the interstate.
Their absence was not spotted until a routine headcount around 8:30 a.m.
“We also have indications that these escapees received assistance from individuals inside the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office,” authorities said.
The sheriff’s office acknowledged that the jail is facing “critical issues” with its infrastructure while it denounced those who are seeking to make the incident “political.”
Those infrastructure issues include defective locks on the cells and inoperable security cameras throughout the facility.
“These security breaches, combined with ongoing staffing shortages, have made it difficult to maintain the level of security required,” the sheriff’s office said.
“OPSO is actively advocating for capital budget improvements to address these pressing needs. We are committed to ensuring that the necessary repairs are made to restore full functionality to the facility and to improve the overall safety and security of both detainees and staff.”
Louisiana State Police said on social media that the FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of any escapees.
“You can run, but you cannot hide,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said in a statement. “We will hunt each of you down.”
Earlier, it was believed that 11 inmates had escaped from the jail, but authorities clarified that one of the men who was thought to have escaped had been miscounted inside the facility.
Of the ten men who did escape, one was caught earlier Friday and identified as Kendell Myles.
“We are urging the public to stay alert,” Hutson said during a news conference.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said people believed to be victims of the inmates were evacuated from their homes and “taken to safety.” She urged any witnesses to the crimes of the inmates do the same.
The Orleans Parish Justice Center was fully locked down Friday.
The escapees are Antoine Massey, Lenton Vanburen, Leo Tate, Kendell Myles, Derrick Groves, Jermain Donald, Corey Boyd, Gary Price, Robert Moody, Decannon Dennis and Keith Lewis.
One of the escapees, Price, was charged with attempted first-degree murder. Several face second-degree murder charges.
An investigation into the escape is underway as a manhunt continues.
