While social media is placing bets on which escaped inmate will be captured last, or never, authorities are investigating just how 10 men successfully broke out of a New Orleans jail. According to reports, the men, including four who are charged with second-degree murder and remain on the run, had some assistance.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced on Tuesday (May 20) how the inmates escaped from the Orleans Parish Justice Center early Friday morning: With the help of maintenance worker Sterling Williams, who allegedly cut off the water so the men could pull a toilet from the wall, creating an opening to the outside. To add insult to injury, “To Easy Lol” and “We Innocent” was written above the gaping hole above where the toilet once stood.
Williams, 33, is currently being held at the Plaquemines Parish Detention Center on 10 counts of principle to simple escape and malfeasance in office charges. But he details how he didn’t cooperate willingly. According to court documents, Williams said an inmate threatened to shank him if he did not help. He named Antoine Massey, who is still on the loose, as the inmate who allegedly threatened him, per an affidavit for an arrest warrant.
Murrill said in a news release: “Williams admitted to agents that one of the escapees advised him to turn the water off in the cell where the inmates escaped from...Instead of reporting the inmate, Williams turned the water off as directed, allowing the inmates to carry out their scheme to successfully escape.”
Williams may not be alone either, as three other jail employees have been suspended during the investigation.
Footage showed Antoine Massey, Lenton Vanburen, Leo Tate, Kendell Myles, Derrick Groves, Jermain Donald, Corey Boyd, Gary Price, Robert Moody, and DKenan Dennis, escaping out of a loading dock door. They used blankets to scale a fence, the sheriff’s office said, who reported their clothes were later found discarded.
Over 200 law enforcement personnel are assisting in the search. Six of the 10 men remain at large as of Tuesday morning, CBS News reports. A $20,000 reward for information leading to the capture of each escaped inmate is being offered.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said it’s “the largest jailbreak in the history of the state” that “never should have happened” and called for an audit of the jail by the Department of Corrections. He wants everyone in the criminal justice system to be held accountable, “except for the police, who seem to be doing their job.”