2025 New Orleans jailbreak

Last updated
2025 New Orleans jailbreak
CCTV footage of the inmates escaping
DateMay 16, 2025, manhunt ongoing since then
Time12:23 a.m. CDT (The time they escaped) 1:01 a.m. CDT (CDT)
Location Orleans Parish Prison, New Orleans, Louisiana
Type Jail escape, manhunt
ParticipantsAt least 10 (escapees potentially had help from jail employees)
Outcome9 escapees captured, 1 still at-large (Derrick Groves)
Accused16 (1 jail employee, 1 jail inmate, 14 acquaintances) [a]

On May 16, 2025, ten inmates of the Orleans Parish Prison, located in New Orleans, Louisiana, escaped through a hole in the wall behind a toilet. Six of the ten inmates were charged with murder or attempted murder, and nine inmates have since been recaptured as of August 3rd. Nine of the inmates are pre-trial.

Contents

Escape

At 12:23 a.m., inmates at the Orleans Parish Prison, who managed to escape their cells due to some faulty locks, began tampering with a locked sliding cell door for about 20 minutes before pulling it off its tracks and gaining entry into the cell. Once inside, the group ripped off a toilet and sink unit in the cell, and cut off horizontal bars from a hole behind the toilet that was used to connect pipes. [6] By doing this, they were successfully able to escape. Above the hole where the inmates escaped from, the inmates scribbled graffiti and various obscene messages, among them "To Easy LoL" and "We Innocent." [7] Authorities stated the guard assigned with watching their cell pod was away getting food at the time of the escape. [8]

After squeezing through the hole, the group fled through a loading dock, scaled a wall, then ran across the Interstate 10 highway. [9] By 1:30 a.m., the group was outside the jail. [8] At 8:30 a.m., roughly seven hours after the escape, the inmates were discovered missing during a routine head count. [10]

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson noted that there was a chance that someone who worked at the jail had helped the men escape, saying “It’s almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help". [8] A jail employee who was monitoring surveillance had reportedly witnessed the escape but did not report it to deputies. Three employees at the jail have been suspended without pay while officials investigate. [10]

Prison officials early on suspected the escapees had inside help to escape. On May 20, 2025, a jail maintenance worker was arrested and accused of turning off the water in certain cells in order to aid the escapees removing the toilet. Three additional jail employees were suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation. [1] [11] On May 21, 2025, two women were arrested for aiding the escapees and charged with being accessories after the fact. At least one of the women was in communication with an escapee prior to the escape. [2] Late on May 22, 2025, another woman was arrested for being an accomplice. [3] As of Friday, May 23, 2025, seven people had been arrested for aiding the escapees: 1 jail employee, 1 jail inmate, and 5 acquaintances. [4] On the weekend of May 24–25, 2025, four people who were family or acquaintances of escapee Lenton Vanburen were arrested for assisting him. [5]

Capture

Three of the men were captured on May 16, 2025, and were taken to the Louisiana State Penitentiary via helicopter. [8] Price was captured on May 19, 2025, [12] [13] and Boyd was captured a day later. [14] Vanburen was captured on May 26, 2025, in Baton Rouge. [15] Tate and Donald were also captured on May 26 in Walker County, Texas. [16] [17]

Louisiana State Police said in a statement that one of the inmates, Kendall Myles, was found under a car at a hotel garage in the French Quarter. [8] This was the fourth time Massey had escaped from a jail. He is also ineligible for ankle monitoring because he kept cutting them off. [18] Massey was captured on June 27, 2025. [19]

Escapees

The escapees' ages ranged from 19 to 43. Several have been charged with murder. Others were charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, false imprisonment with a weapon, armed robbery with a firearm, and domestic abuse. [20]

The escapee still at large as of August 30, 2025 is: [b]

NameNotes
Derrick Groves (age 28)Convicted of second-degree murder

The apprehended escapees are: [c]

NameDate apprehendedNotes
Antoine Massey (age 33)June 27, 2025Charged with domestic abuse involving strangulation, along with automotive theft
Jermaine Donald (age 43)May 26, 2025Charged with second-degree murder, aggravated battery and illegal possession of a firearm
Leo Tate (age 32)May 26, 2025Charged with second-degree murder
Lenton Vanburen (age 27)May 26, 2025Charged with second-degree murder
Corey Boyd (age 20)May 20, 2025Charged with second-degree murder
Gary Price (age 21)May 19, 2025Charged with attempted first-degree murder, simple assault, criminal damage, domestic abuse, battery and assault with a weapon
Dkenan Dennis (age 24)May 16, 2025Charged with armed robbery with a firearm and illegal carrying of a weapon during a crime of violence
Robert Moody (age 22)May 16, 2025Charged with attempted second-degree battery and obstruction
Kendall Myles (age 21)May 16, 2025Charged with intention to conceal a weapon, introducing contraband into a prison and possession of contraband

Accessories charged

People charged with assisting the escapees (before or after)
NameDate

apprehended

Notes
Darriana Burton [24] June 9, 2025Accused of assisting her boyfriend, Derrick Groves
James Randolph [25] May 28, 2025Accused of assisting his cousin, Lenton Vanburen acquire a hotel room
Vi Duc Nguyen [25] May 28, 2025Accused of paying for the Baton Rouge hotel room that Lenton Vanburen was arrested in
Lenton Vanburen Sr. (48) [26] May 27, 2025Father of Lenton Vanburen
Lenika Vanburen (28) [26] May 27, 2025Relative of Lenton Vanburen
Patricia Vanburen (18) [26] May 27, 2025Relative of Lenton Vanburen
Tyshanea Randolph (27) [26] May 27, 2025Charged with assisting Lenton Vanburen
Angel McKay (41) [26] May 27, 2025Charged with assisting Lenton Vanburen
Diamond White (21) [26] May 27, 2025Charged with "principal to aggravated escape" for the assistance of Antoine Massey
Trevon Williams [27] Already in custody (Charged May 24, 2025)Charged with ten counts of simple escape
Emmitt Weber [28] May 23, 2025Charged with assisting two unnamed escapees
Casey Smith (30) [29] May 22, 2025Admitted her involvement to arresting officers
Cortnie Harris (32) [30] May 21, 2025Accused of being in phone contact with one of the escapees and driving two others around the city to various locations
Corvanntay Baptiste (38) [30] May 21, 2025Charged with accessory after the fact to simple escape
Connie Weeden (59) [31] May 20, 2025Charged with assisting grandson Jermaine Donald
Sterling Williams (33) [32] May 19, 2025Jail plumber, charged with turning off water to the cell toilet which was used by the ten inmates to escape

Notes

  1. ↑ Attributed to multiple sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
  2. ↑ Attributed to multiple sources: [1] [11] [21] [22]
  3. ↑ Attributed to multiple sources: [1] [11] [14] [15] [17] [21] [23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hutchinson, Bill (May 20, 2025). "New Orleans jail employee arrested, accused of helping mass escape of inmates". ABC News. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Bacon, John (May 21, 2025). "Two women arrested for helping fugitives as manhunt in New Orleans escape reaches 6th day". USA Today. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Rehbein, Matt (May 23, 2025). "Fourth Person Charged With Helping Escaped New Orleans Inmates". Erie News Now. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Volack, Jason (May 24, 2025). "7th person arrested for allegedly assisting escaped New Orleans inmates". ABC News. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Hagstrom, Anders (May 25, 2025). "4 arrested for allegedly aiding escaped inmates in New Orleans". Foxnews. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  6. ↑ "New Orleans inmates appear to taunt jailers in photos of hole they escaped from: 'To Easy Lol'". NBC News. May 17, 2025. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  7. ↑ Levenson, Michael (May 16, 2025). "10 New Orleans Inmates Escape Jail Through Cell Wall Where Toilet Was Removed". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Critics blast hourslong gap before officials disclosed 10 inmates' escape from New Orleans jail". AP News. May 17, 2025. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  9. ↑ "See a timeline of the escape by 10 Orleans Parish jail inmates". NOLA.com. May 16, 2025. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  10. 1 2 Bragg, Julianna; Yan, Holly; Faheid, Dalia; Rosales, Isabel (May 16, 2025). "10 inmates, including several murder suspects, escape from New Orleans jail after breaching wall behind toilet, sheriff says". CNN. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 Ahmadi, Ali Abbas (May 16, 2025). "'To Easy LoL' - New Orleans jail break may have been inside job". BBC News. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  12. ↑ Holly, Yan; Sottile, Zoe; Romo, Rafael; Dam, TuAnh (May 19, 2025). "Fourth New Orleans inmate captured as manhunt intensifies and DA's staff members flee for safety". CNN . Retrieved May 19, 2025.
  13. ↑ Price, Stepheny (May 19, 2025). "Louisiana State Police captures 4th escaped inmate in NOLA prison break, 6 still at large". Fox News. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Carroll, Metia (May 20, 2025). "Louisiana State Police capture fifth escaped inmate". WDSU. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  15. 1 2 Casiano, Louis (May 26, 2025). "Sixth fugitive from New Orleans jailbreak captured in Baton Rouge". Fox News. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  16. ↑ Frazier, Kierra (May 26, 2025). "3 more escaped New Orleans jail inmates captured; 2 remain at large - CBS News". CBS News. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  17. 1 2 Lowrey, Erin (May 26, 2025). "Two New Orleans escaped inmates captured in Texas". WDSU News. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  18. ↑ D'Abrosca, Peter (May 27, 2025). "New Orleans jail security 'train wreck' helped 4-time escapee, 9 others break out: former warden". Fox News. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
  19. ↑ Young, Zoe Sottile, Jason Morris, Ryan (June 27, 2025). "New Orleans jail escapee Antoine Massey captured, sheriff's office says". CNN. Retrieved June 27, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ↑ Brook, Jack; Mustian, Jim; Cline, Sara (May 17, 2025). "10 escape from New Orleans jail through hole in cell wall while lone guard left to get food". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  21. 1 2 Arnold, Jeff (May 16, 2025). "New Orleans manhunt: What is known about those who escaped". NewsNation. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  22. ↑ Young, Zoe Sottile, Jason Morris, Ryan (June 27, 2025). "New Orleans jail escapee Antoine Massey captured, sheriff's office says". CNN. Retrieved June 27, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. ↑ Shapiro, Emily (May 20, 2025). "5 men at large after escape from New Orleans jail, including 3 charged with murder". ABC News. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  24. ↑ Franklin, Jasmine (June 9, 2025). "U.S. Marshals arrest woman accused of helping escaped inmate Derrick Groves". WDSU. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  25. 1 2 Burruss, Adam (May 28, 2025). "Two arrested, accused of assisting escaped New Orleans inmate in Baton Rouge". WBRZ. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lowrey, Erin (May 27, 2025). "Louisiana State Police arrest six people accused of helping escaped inmates". WDSU. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  27. ↑ Lowrey, Erin (May 23, 2025). "Inmate inside Orleans Parish jail accused of helping 10 inmates escape". WDSU. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  28. ↑ Casiano, Louis (May 24, 2025). "New Orleans police make another arrest in ongoing jail escape investigation". New York Post. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  29. ↑ "NOPD Arrests Suspect Who Allegedly Assisted OPJC Escapees". NOPD News. May 22, 2025. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  30. 1 2 Lowrey, Erin (May 22, 2025). "New Orleans judge sets bond for two women accused of helping three escaped inmates". WDSU. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  31. ↑ Kim, Sula (May 23, 2025). "Grandmother of escaped New Orleans inmate arrested". WDSU. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  32. ↑ Abubey, Faith (May 20, 2025). "New Orleans jail employee arrested, accused of helping mass escape of inmates". ABC News. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
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