NEW ORLEANS (TNND) — A maintenance worker at the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office has been arrested in connection with the escape of 10 inmates at the Orleans Justice Center, according to the Louisiana Attorney General’s office.
Sterling Williams, 38, admitted to agents that one of the escapees advised him to turn the water off in the cell where the inmates escaped from, according to investigators.
“Instead of reporting the inmate, Williams turned the water off as directed, allowing the inmates to carry out their scheme to successfully escape,” a news release read.
Williams was charged with 10 counts of principal to simple escape and malfeasance in office.
“This is a continuing investigation, and we will provide updates as often as possible. We will uncover all the facts eventually and anyone who aided and abetted will be prosecuted to the full extent the law allows. I encourage anyone who knows anything and even those who may have provided assistance to come forward now to obtain the best possible outcome in their particular case,” Attorney General Liz Murrill said.
Six of the 10 men who escaped from the jail on Friday by slipping through a hole in the wall behind a toilet are still on the run.
The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said a fourth fugitive, Gary Price, had been captured Monday by the Louisiana State Police and the NOPD in New Orleans East. Authorities are now offering a $20,000 reward for each inmate.
On Sunday, the FBI increased its reward amount from $5,000 to $10,000 per escapee, while the CrimeStoppers reward was increased from $2,000 to $5,000, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was offering $5,000.
The men range in age from 19 to 42 and face a variety of charges including aggravated assault, domestic abuse battery and murder.
Soon after the escape, Kendall Myles, 20, was apprehended in the French Quarter after a brief foot chase. Robert Moody, 21, and Dkenan Dennis, 24, were taken by helicopter to a state correctional facility outside the New Orleans area, Louisiana State Police said Saturday.
Law enforcement didn’t learn about the escape until more than seven hours after the men fled the facility at 1 a.m., authorities said.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson stated during a news conference last week that she believes the jail break was an inside job, adding that there are indications that people inside her department helped the fugitives escape.
“We do acknowledge there is no way people can get out of this facility without there being some type of lapse in security,” Hutson said. “It’s almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help.”
Surveillance footage, shared with media during a news conference, showed the escapees sprinting out of the facility — some wearing orange clothing and others in white. They proceeded to scale a fence, using blankets to avoid being cut by barbed wire. Some could be seen in the video sprinting across the interstate, avoiding cars.
The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said it has “taken decisive action” and suspended three staff members without pay “pending the outcome of an internal investigation into facility operations and supervision practices surrounding the escape.”
Officials from the sheriff’s office said there was no deputy physically at the pod, where the escaped individuals had been held. They said there was a “technician who was assigned to the housing unit module,” but that they had “stepped away to grab food.”
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Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.
