A massive manhunt continues for 7 of the 10 escapees who broke out of the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Friday, May 16. The men range in age from 19 to 42, and are facing various felony charges including murder, aggravated assault and domestic battery.
Does law enforcement have any leads at this point?
Television station WDSU reported that the escaped inmates are believed to still be in Louisiana.
At a press conference on Sunday, March 18, Col. Robert Hodges from the Louisiana State Police said, “We have had some leads in other states, unfortunately, those leads didn’t pan out.“
Still, police said leads from the public did help them capture three of the inmates.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill stated on Sunday that the “main priority remains recovering the prisoners, protecting the public, securing and stabilizing the facility staff and building.“
How did they escape?
Investigators believe the inmates were able to get out of the jail on Friday due to defective locks, then by exiting through a hole behind a toilet. The inmates then scaled a wall while the lone guard in the cell pod was away getting food.
It wasn’t until a morning headcount, about seven hours later, that police learned about the escape.
The Associated Press posted a picture of the hole in the wall, accompanied by the words “To Easy LoL” and an arrow pointing to the opening.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson says the inmates possibly had help from people inside the department, stating that it would be nearly impossible to get out of the facility without help from the inside.
Efforts to recapture the inmates continue
The jail houses about 1400 inmates. Reports indicate the men fled into a neighborhood near the city’s famous French Quarter. The FBI New Orleans account posted on X that one of the inmates is back in custody with the help of a tipster.
It says, “It was a tip from the public that led #FBI agents to one of the escaped inmates. We still need your help to locate the seven still on the run, if you have any information call 1-800-Call-FBI or submit a digital tip at FBI.gov/neworleansfugitives.”
The FBI is now offering a reward of $10,000 per inmate. That’s in addition to a $5,000 reward offered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, plus $2,000 from Crime Stoppers.
contributed to this report.
