Ten inmates considered “armed and dangerous” escaped from a New Orleans jail on Friday morning, and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office believes they had inside help. Three inmates have been apprehended, while seven remain at large.
The sheriff’s office initially stated that 11 inmates had escaped the jail, but later updated the count on Friday. Sheriff Susan Hutson stated at a news conference that Keith Lewis was incorrectly identified as an escapee.
“There’s no way for anyone to get out of this facility without help from the outside,” Mr. Hutson said.
According to the sheriff’s office, the inmates were discovered missing while conducting a routine head count at the Orleans Parish Jail at 8:30 a.m. local time. They are believed to have escaped shortly after midnight.
According to the sheriff, the inmates yanked the sliding jail cell door off the track around 12:23 a.m., and then exited the jail at 1:01 a.m. by breaching a wall behind a toilet.
The toilet and bolts were removed with toiletry items, according to the sheriff, but he did not specify what they were. The inmates then climbed down a wall and ran across the interstate.
On Friday night, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office released security video of the extraordinary escape, which shows the inmates sprinting out of the prison and then crossing the freeway.
The escaped inmates also wrote obscene messages to the guards. One, which was misspelled, said “too easy, LOL.”
Hutson explained the delay in discovering the breakout, saying, “You have to go inside the facility to see; they could have been anywhere.” Then we had to prioritize talking to the victims to ensure their safety.”
Hutson believes the escapees were helped by jail staff or deputies.
“We do acknowledge, there is no way, people can get out of this facility without there being some time of lapse in security,” Mr. Hutson said.
According to New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, one inmate has been apprehended in downtown New Orleans using facial recognition technology captured on a surveillance camera. Louisiana State Police identified the escapee as Kendell Myles, who attempted to flee on foot before being apprehended “without further incident.”
The sheriff’s office said deputies discovered Myles hiding beneath a car in the Hotel Monteleone parking garage. He was returned to the Orleans Parish Jail and will be rebooked on a new charge of simple escape, according to the sheriff.
A second inmate, Robert Moody, was apprehended later on Friday and returned to custody, according to OPSO press officer Casey McGee. The OPSO also stated that Dkenan Dennis was apprehended and taken into custody on Friday night.
Police believe the remaining escapees are in New Orleans. The Orleans Parish Jail was in lockdown.
“A search for the individuals is currently underway, and OPSO is collaborating with local and state law enforcement agencies to bring them back into custody,” the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Kirkpatrick said during a news conference that New Orleans police, including their violent offender warrant squad, the FBI, and the US Marshals had joined the search for the escaped inmates, who were all violent offenders held on the same jail tier. The Louisiana State Police were also searching.
Kirkpatrick said police were still waiting for a complete set of photos of the escaped inmates at midday on Friday. She stated that they notified some victims of the escapees, several of whom are facing murder or other violent charges. Following the jailbreak, police removed a family from their homes and transported them to safety, Kirkpatrick said.
One of the escaped inmates is Derrick Groves, who was convicted of murder in a 2018 Mardi Gras shooting.
She asked the public to notify police if they were victims or witnesses to the escapees’ trials so that they could receive assistance.
She suspected the escapees had assistance and were unlikely to be wearing their jumpsuits at the time.
Kirpatrick warned the public that if they harbored or assisted the escapees, “they will be charged.”
The sheriff’s office blames the city for failing to fund prison security upgrades, claiming it has requested assistance for five years. Hutson told reporters that replacing the locks alone at the parish’s prisons is expected to cost $5.2 million.