This is the jail cell at the Orleans Justice Center where ten inmates escaped out of. Credit: Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office
UPDATE (5/19) Three escapees are back in custody. Robert Moody and Dkenan Dennis were both captured Friday night; Moody on 2nd St. and Dennis near Chef Menteur Hwy. and Dale St.
Also, the total reward is increased to $20,000 — $10,000 from the FBI and $5,000 each from ATF and CrimeStoppers.
The original story is as follows:
Ten inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans early Friday morning.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson says the inmates started yanking on a cell door to pull it off its tracks shortly before 12:30 a.m.
“Folks are normally locked down in this facility at 10:30 p.m., but these folks that were able to get out did so because of defective locks on the cells,” Sheriff Hutson told a news conference Friday afternoon. “They were still able to exit the jail about 1:01 a.m. after breaching a wall behind a toilet in the jail.
“They were seeing exiting a door on the docks where we normally bring in supplies, scaling a wall and running across the Interstate shortly thereafter,” Hutson continued.
Deputy Chief of Corrections Jay Mallett says the toilets inside the jail facility are bolted on the outside of the building.
That’s why investigators are convinced that the inmates had help from the outside.
“Some of the bolts, some of the toilets, some of the infrastructure, some of the fixtures were removed,” says Mallett. “We know that this could not be removed from the inside.”
It wasn’t until 8:30 a.m. when jail officers learned that the ten had escaped, when they went unaccounted for during a routine prisoner check.
“There is no way people can get out of this facility without there being some type of lapse in security,” says Hutson. “It’s almost impossible — not completely, but almost impossible — for anybody to get out of this facility without help from the outside.”
OPSO says one-third of the jail’s security cameras were not working.
Furthermore, it wasn’t for at least an additional 90 minutes before the public and the media were notified.
Hutson says not only did the inmates have help from the outside, but it appears that they also had help from the inside.
“We have indication that these detainees received assistance in their escape from individuals inside of our department,” says Hutson, who added that three employees have been suspended.
New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick says once they found out about the escape, officers immediately reached out to the inmates’ victims and witnesses who helped put them behind bars.
“We have a group of people who we went immediately and notified them to let them know that there’s an escape. We got them removed from their home and made sure that they have been taken to safety,” says Kirkpatrick. “If you were a victim. If you were a witness in any of their trials, please let us know so we can help you. If you are concerned, we can help you get to safe locations.”
The inmates are Kendall Myles, Lenton Vanburen, Antoine Massey, Derrick Groves, Leo Tate, Jermain Donald, Corey Boyd, Gary Price, Dkannon Dennis and Robert Moody.
These are the ten inmates who escaped from the Orleans Justice Center early Friday morning. All are considered armed and dangerous. Credit: Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office
Myles has since been recaptured; OPSO deputies found him hiding underneath a car inside the parking garage at Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter, about two and a half miles away.
The manhunt is on for the other nine, and multiple agencies are involved, including the New Orleans Police Department, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and Louisiana State Police.
The FBI is offering a $5000 reward for information leading to the arrest of any of the escaped inmates.
All inmates are considered armed and dangerous, and law enforcement urges you not to even think about approaching any one of them.
Kirkpatrick says also don’t expect them to be wearing their jail-issued attire.
“It’s more than likely that someone had help and that they are not running around in a jumpsuit,” says Kirkpatrick. “But if they were, (they’re) going to stand out.
Sheriff Hutson says the escape spotlights major deficiencies in the facility and its operations.
“This incident has once again highlighted the critical need for repairs and upgrades to our facilities,” says Hutson. “We are only at about 60% staffing. We still need 150 deputies in this jail and another 50 for the new jail about to open.”
Louisiana leaders took to social media to react to the escape.
“If you think this will fly in Louisiana you are DEAD WRONG,” Gov. Landry posted on X. “Every single one of you will be caught!”
“Someone clearly dropped the ball and there’s no excuse for this,” Attorney General Liz Murrill posted on X. “I’m in communication with Troop NOLA and @LAStatePolice Superintendent Colonel Hodges. It’s all hands on deck. The first priority in any escape must be the immediate capture of the inmates and coordination with state and local law enforcement — but that effort cannot come at the expense of timely notification to the public, which is also critical to keeping communities safe. My office will do whatever it takes to determine how this happened and make sure that it won’t happen again. I am calling for a full investigation – This is beyond unacceptable, and once these offenders are back in custody, there must be real accountability.”
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