Oct. 8, 2025:
ATLANTA (AP) — The U.S. Marshals say the only escaped inmate who remained on the run after breaking out of a New Orleans jail in May has been captured (Oct. 8, 2025). The men escaped from the Louisiana jail after squeezing through a hole behind a toilet and scaling a barbed-wire fence. Above the hole, they scrawled a message on the cell wall that read “To Easy LoL.” Many of the fugitives had been in the jail awaiting trials or sentencing for violent crimes. City and state officials have pointed to multiple security lapses in the jail, including ineffective cell locks and the assertion that the inmates got out when the lone guard monitoring them went to get food.
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ATLANTA (AP) — A monthslong search for the only Louisiana inmate still on the run after an audacious May jailbreak ended Wednesday (Oct. 8, 2025) when authorities say they found him hiding in a crawl space beneath an Atlanta home, bringing the last of the 10 escapees into custody.
Derrick Groves, 28, was convicted of murder and facing a possible life sentence before the inmates escaped through a hole behind a toilet in a New Orleans jail. He had the most violent criminal record of the group and authorities offered a $50,000 reward for tips leading to his capture.
A SWAT team spent hours searching the house for Groves after obtaining a warrant, Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Fair said.
“They couldn’t find him, they had to deploy gas multiple times into the house and basement,” Fair said. “Based on how long it took a seasoned, well-trained SWAT team to get him out, he had planned to hide for a while.”
A police dog eventually located him, Atlanta police Deputy Chief Kelley Collier said. In video provided by the department, Groves — shirtless, shoeless and shackled at his wrists and ankles — blew a kiss and grinned at the camera as he was led into a police car.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry applauded law enforcement for putting all 10 escapees “back where they belong: BEHIND BARS,” in a post on X.
The tip that led to his capture came through New Orleans Crimestoppers, Fair said.
Several people appeared to be helping Groves and could face charges for aiding and abetting, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said at a press conference Wednesday, adding that Groves is scheduled to be in court in Georgia Thursday for a hearing on extradition.
The home’s garage door was collapsed inward Wednesday afternoon as police blocked off the scene. The brick house on a sloping lawn surrounded by trees is in a neighborhood beside Tyler Perry Studios, one of the nation’s largest movie production facilities. Inside the home, police also found a pistol and 15 pounds (6.8 kg) of marijuana, Murrill said.
Groves’ attorney, Peter Freiberg, said he had not yet spoken with his client and declined to comment. He was appointed to represent Groves by the Orleans Public Defender conflict panel.
“Literally all I know is the alert from the city of New Orleans saying he was arrested in Atlanta,” Freiberg said.
The other nine inmates were recaptured within six weeks of the May 16 breakout, most inside Orleans Parish city limits.
Escapee’s mother reacts to his capture
“I’m all messed up, I’m just trying to talk to him,” said Groves’ mother, Stephanie Groves, who spoke to The Associated Press after learning about the arrest online.
Fighting tears, she said she had urged her son to surrender peacefully and didn’t know why he went to Atlanta. She said her family had been followed and watched by law enforcement since the breakout.
“I’m just glad it’s over with,” she said. “Of course he was going to get caught.”
Groves had been convicted of second-degree murder in 2024 for opening fire on a family block party on Mardi Gras day, killing two people and injuring others. He faces life imprisonment without parole.
The jailbreak in New Orleans
Groves and the nine others yanked open a faulty cell door, squeezed through a hole behind a toilet, scaled a barbed-wire fence and vanished into the night. It was one of the largest jailbreaks in recent U.S. history.
Their absence wasn’t discovered until a morning headcount hours later. Inside the cell, investigators found an arrow drawn toward the hole and a taunting message: “To Easy LoL.”
Officials later blamed ineffective cell locks and said the lone guard monitoring them was getting food during the escape. But authorities insist the escape may have been an inside job.
A jail maintenance worker was arrested for allegedly helping them escape by turning off water to the toilet. His lawyer said he was simply unclogging it and was unaware of the plot. Another former jail employee, identified as Groves’ girlfriend, is accused of helping coordinate the breakout.
Search for the fugitives
Hundreds of officers scoured New Orleans, using phone records and hundreds of tips to quickly track down some of the men.
At least 16 people, many of them friends or relatives, were arrested on felony charges of helping the fugitives before or after the jailbreak by providing food, cash, transport and shelter.
One escapee was captured in Baton Rouge after allegedly hiding in a vacant house his friend had been hired to paint. Two others were caught in Texas after a high-speed car chase. Antoine Massey, one of the last fugitives to be recaptured, allegedly posted photos and videos on social media while on the run.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, who has largely blamed the breakout on the lockup’s ailing infrastructure, has faced heavy criticism from state and local officials over her handling of the escape and management of the jail.
Escapees face additional charges
Many of the men were in jail awaiting sentences or trials over violent crimes, including murder. The nine other men pleaded not guilty to escape charges in July, appearing via video from Louisiana State Penitentiary.
“Everyone is entitled to due process,” Murrill said. “But there’s a video of these detainees running out of the jail in the middle of the night. They were not heading to court hearings.”
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams hailed the end of the search and said prosecutors “will pursue every available legal avenue” against Groves.
All 10 men are charged with simple escape, punishable by two to five years in prison, on top of their original counts.
Groves was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon. He’s charged with being a fugitive from justice, jail records show.
July 9, 2025:
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nearly two months after 10 inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail by crawling through a hole behind a toilet, authorities have recaptured all but the man with the most violent rap sheet: Derrick Groves.
Following the May 16, 2025, jailbreak, law enforcement tracked down three escapees within 24 hours and most of the others within the next few weeks. While some of the fugitives roamed through nightlife hotspots and another made Instagram posts, Groves has so far kept a low profile.
The 28-year-old New Orleans native has the most at stake, authorities say. Last year, a jury convicted Groves of killing two people after he opened fire on a family block party with an assault rifle in what prosecutors said was a feud with rival drug dealers.
Groves faces life imprisonment without parole, but administrative delays have kept him in jail for years rather than a more secure prison facility.
“He’s got nothing to lose,” said Forrest Ladd, an Orleans Parish assistant district attorney who prosecuted Groves. “That’s a dangerous thing from anybody, much less somebody capable of causing mass harm.”
How likely is it Groves will be recaptured?
More than 90% of people who escape from U.S. correctional facilities are recaptured within a year, said Bryce Peterson, adjunct professor of criminal justice at John Jay College.
“The longer you are out there, the more likely you are to stay out,” said Peterson, though he believes Groves will be caught eventually due to the high level of media attention.
Most escapes occur when low-level offenders seize spontaneous opportunities, Peterson said. The New Orleans jailbreak stands out because of its level of “sophistication and pre-planning” and the alleged roles current and former jail employees played in the escape, he added.
How has Groves avoided law enforcement for so long?
Multiple defense attorneys who have worked with Groves described him as intelligent and polite. Prosecutors in his cases say he is violent, manipulative and remorseless.
“He’s the worst human being I’ve ever come across in my life,” said Ladd, the Orleans Parish assistant district attorney. “But he is a very charismatic, and I think that allows him the ability to kind of control people.”
A former jail employee who became Groves’ girlfriend during his incarceration is accused of helping him coordinate the escape in advance by arranging phone calls that avoided the jail’s monitoring system. She is one of at least 16 people — many family members of the escapees — facing charges for providing transport, food, shelter and cash to the fugitives, most of whom stayed within New Orleans.
Several days after the escape, authorities received information that Groves was hiding in the city’s Lower Ninth Ward, the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged neighborhood where he grew up, according to court documents.
State and federal authorities declined to provide details on Groves’ suspected whereabouts. Louisiana State Police Superintendent Col. Robert Hodges indicated he believes Groves is receiving assistance from friends or family.
“Sometimes we think we are incredibly close,” Hodges said during a June 27 news conference, adding that authorities would arrive at a location to find a fugitive “just moved because they have help.”
There is a $50,000 reward for tips leading to Groves’ recapture.
Mistrust in the criminal justice system
Likely impeding the search for Groves is widespread skepticism toward law enforcement from city residents following decades of abuse, often against the Black community. In 1994, a corrupt police officer ordered the killing of Groves’ grandmother, Kim Groves, after she reported him for beating up a teenager. Her three children settled a federal civil rights lawsuit with the city for $1.5 million in 2018.
“For my family, it’s been like reliving a constant nightmare,” Groves’ aunt, Jasmine Groves, told WDSU, saying the family has been interrogated and remains under law enforcement surveillance. She has urged her nephew to turn himself in.
Groves’ mother and aunt did not respond to The Associated Press’ requests for comment for this story.
In 2014, at the age of 17, Groves was arrested and incarcerated for nearly two years on a charge of attempted second-degree murder for which he was later acquitted by a jury, though his own father had testified against him, according to court records and a prosecutor in the case, Mike Trummel.
Tom Shlosman, Groves’ defense attorney in that case, said that Groves’ prolonged incarceration as a teenager and his grandmother’s murder likely undermined his faith in the criminal justice system. Shlosman remembered Groves as “young and scared.”
“None of that’s going to affect a kid in any positive way,” Shlosman said. “And it’s certainly not going to instill trust in law enforcement.”
A series of killings
Groves, who goes by “Woo,” dropped out of school in ninth grade and sold heroin in the Lower Ninth Ward for years, according to court records. The FBI began monitoring his social media while he was still a teenager, and Groves pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in 2019.
Groves has been in jail since at least 2019, after his involvement in four killings during an 18-month period.
In October 2024, a jury convicted Groves of second-degree murder for using an assault rifle to spray dozens of bullets into a family block party on Mardi Gras, killing 21-year-old Byron Jackson and 26-year-old Jamar Robinson and wounding several others.
Groves later pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in two separate shootings, according to the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office.
Eyewitnesses in cases involving Groves have been threatened and physically attacked by him, and others were so intimidated they refused to testify against him, according to three current and former prosecutors and court records.
In court, Robinson’s aunt, Janis Robinson, said she had cried every night since her nephew died: “I don’t know how we are going to get through it.”
In response, records show, Groves swore repeatedly at her in court.
June 3, 2025:
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A man who identifies himself as New Orleans jail escapee Antoine Massey released videos on social media while still on the run from authorities, leading to a police raid that failed to recapture him, an Associated Press source says.
Authorities were so convinced about the authenticity of the videos that they searched a New Orleans home late Monday (June 2, 2025) where they believe the videos were filmed, according to a senior law enforcement official who spoke to The AP on the condition of anonymity. The official said he was not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation into the May 16, 2025, jail escape by 10 inmates.
Massey was not at the home, the official said, but authorities did locate some clothing they believe he wore during the filming.
Authorities had been tipped to the videos, which were posted on Sunday, by relatives who recognized the residence from which Massey was speaking. It was not immediately clear who owned the home.
Authorities say they are investigating the videos as they race to recapture Massey and convicted murderer Derrick Groves more than two weeks after 10 inmates made an audacious breakout from a New Orleans jail. Eight of the other escapees have since been recaptured.
Louisiana State Police, the agency leading the search for the fugitives, declined to comment on whether it had verified Massey’s identity in the videos. The agency carried out the search related to the videos, which have since been removed from Instagram.
The New Orleans Police Department said it “cannot confirm the authenticity” of the videos circulating on social media seemingly showing a man with the same facial tattoos as Massey sitting near a kitchen.
“Please, I’m asking for help,” said Massey, appealing to President Donald Trump and several rappers including Lil Wayne, a New Orleans native, in one video. “When I get back in custody I’m asking y’all please to come and help.”
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson called on Massey to “come forward and turn himself in.”
“Cooperating with law enforcement is in his best interest and may help avoid additional charges,” Hutson said in an emailed statement. “It is important that justice is served appropriately and that due process is followed.”
Massey, 32, faced charges of rape, kidnapping, domestic violence involving strangulation and violation of a protective order all stemming from a November 2024 incident, St. Tammany Parish authorities say. In Orleans Parish, where he was incarcerated, he faced charges of motor vehicle theft and domestic battery.
Massey said he is innocent.
A woman police identified as being in a relationship with Massey has suffered multiple alleged instances of physical abuse from him, according to police reports, and had a protective order against him last year, court records show.
This woman has been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice and being a principle to aggravated escape. Authorities said the woman knew of Massey’s escape plans in advance, communicated with him after his escape and misled authorities.
Massey also claimed in the video that he had been “let out” of jail.
Footage and images released by authorities show inmates yanking open a faulty cell door, removing a toilet and crawling through a hole where steel bars had been cut. They then scaled a barbed wire fence using blankets.
A maintenance worker charged with helping the incarcerated men escape has denied knowingly aiding them via his lawyer.
May 22, 2025:
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May 20, 2025:
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Authorities have arrested an Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office maintenance worker in connection with the escape of 10 jail inmates. The office said in a statement Tuesday (May 20, 2025) that Sterling Williams admitted he turned the water off in a cell before the men slipped away through a hole behind the toilet early Friday (May 16, 2025). Williams told authorities an inmate threatened to stab him if he didn’t help. Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson last week told reporters her agency had suspended three employees pending an investigation. Four of the fugitives have been apprehended and six remain at large.
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans jail maintenance worker has been arrested after admitting he turned water off to a toilet covering a hole in a cell wall, allowing 10 men to squeeze through the gap and escape the facility.
The inmates pulled off the daring escape from the Orleans Justice Center early Friday (May 16, 2025) by yanking open a faulty cell door, moving the toilet and slithering through the hole. Graffiti on the wall included the message “To Easy LoL,” with an arrow pointing to the gap.
Officials have underscored multiple security lapses, including ineffective cell locks and that the inmates escaped when the lone guard monitoring them went to get food. The absence of the inmates, many charged with or convicted of violent offenses such as murder, was not reported to law enforcement for hours. Four have since been apprehended and six remain at large.
During a tense New Orleans City Council meeting on Tuesday, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, who oversees the jail, said she “takes full accountability” for the escape.
“There were procedural failures and missed notifications, but there were also intentional wrongdoings —- this was a coordinated effort aided by individuals inside our own agency who made the choice to break the law,” Hutson said. “We are continuing to pursue everyone involved.”
Responding to a question from Councilmember Oliver Thomas, Hutson said she couldn’t guarantee inmates would not be left unattended again, noting the jail is operating with 60% staffing capacity.
Arrested staffer describes his involvement in the escape
The inmates escaped by removing a sink-toilet combination unit from a cell, then cutting steel bars behind the cell room sink, Hutson said. After bending the bars they slipped out. It’s unclear what they used to saw through the bars.
Authorities believe sheriff’s employees may have helped, and three have been suspended. On Tuesday, authorities made their first staff arrest.
Maintenance worker, Sterling Williams, 33, admitted to law enforcement that one of the escapees “advised him to turn the water off in the cell” before the men slipped away through the hole in the wall, the Louisiana Attorney General’s office said in a statement.
In an arrest affidavit, Williams said one of the inmates who escaped had threatened to “shank” him if he did not turn off the water. Another inmate tried to take Williams’ phone and attempted to get him to bring a book with cash app information.
Thomas said the sheriff’s office has a responsibility to protect employees from threats and create a safe environment for them to report problems such as a planned escape.
“We cannot allow the inmates to run the facilities. That can’t happen,” Thomas said. “We cannot allow them to threaten the men and women who work there.”
Authorities say by turning off the water, Williams “willfully and maliciously assisted with the escape.”
“If the inmates removed the sink in the cell and disconnected the rest of the plumbing with the water still on, the plan to escape would not have been successful and potentially flooded the cell, drawing attention to their actions,” the affidavit says.
Williams is charged with 10 counts of principle to simple escape and malfeasance in office. The Associated Press was unable to immediately locate Williams’ attorney. It is unclear if Williams was among the three suspended employees.
Delays and ongoing security concerns
Officials have pointed to other security lapses before, during and after the jailbreak.
On Tuesday, New Orleans officials grilled the sheriff’s office about why there was an hourslong delay in notifying law enforcement of the escape.
While a head count of inmates normally starts around 6:30 a.m. and takes less than an hour, sheriff’s officials said they were still verifying whether inmates had escaped more than two hours later. Jeworski “Jay” Mallet, the jail’s Chief of Corrections, said their inability to verify the escape led to the delay.
City and state police did not find out about the escape until around 10:30 a.m., more than nine hours later. The New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told the council that she learned of the outbreak indirectly.
Local police should have been notified immediately because they have “exponentially vaster” resources to track down the inmates, Councilmember J.P. Morrell said.
“There were failures, failures in our personnel,” Hutson said.
A growing number of state and local officials have said blame for the escape rests squarely on Hutson.
“As sheriff I take fully accountability for this failure,” the sheriff told the New Orleans City Council on Tuesday. “Our community deserves answers and more importantly it deserves action.”
May 19, 2025:
NEW ORLEANS, La. (AP) — Officials increased the reward for the capture of seven inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail by fleeing through a hole behind a toilet as at least a dozen law enforcement agencies pressed their expansive search for the men for a third day on Sunday (May 18, 2025).
FBI Special Agent Jonathan Trapp said at a news conference that seven of the 10 men who originally escaped on Friday are still at large and that the FBI is offering $10,000 per inmate instead of the $5,000 previously announced. He said he believes members of the public may be aiding the men, and authorities will arrest those found aiding or abetting them.
The men range in age from 19 to 42 and face a variety of charges including aggravated assault, domestic abuse battery and murder.
The FBI reward is in addition to $5,000 rewards offered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and $2,000 from CrimeStoppers.
A spokesperson for the Louisiana State Police said that the agency was unable to provide details about the scope and target of the investigation for security reasons. The spokesperson added that a multiagency task force was scouring the region for the remaining fugitives.
In a separate statement, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said on Sunday her office’s “main priority remains recovering the prisoners, protecting the public, securing and stabilizing the facility staff, and building.”
At least one of the escaped inmates was captured based on a tip from the public, according to a statement from the FBI on the social media platform X.
New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick warned that the fugitives are dangerous in a news conference on Friday night but also urged the public “not to panic.”
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said the men were able to get out of the Orleans Justice Center because of “defective locks.” Hutson said she has continuously raised concerns about the locks to officials and, as recently as this week, advocated for money to fix the aged infrastructure.
“This massive jail break could be the largest jail break in the history of the state, and it never should have happened. The public deserves to know who, what and how this happened,” Gov. Jeff Landry said at the Sunday news conference.
Landry said an audit of the jail by the Department of Corrections will be done by the end of the week. He said everyone in the criminal justice system needs to be held accountable “except for the police, who seem to be doing their job.”
Landry cited delays in bringing charges against people accused of crimes, prosecutions and in sentencing as factors he said contribute to jail populations.
He blamed Friday’s escape on what he called a “progressive justice system,” saying that “there is also no excuse for the way these cases are currently being mismanaged in our criminal justice system.”
Landry declined to comment on whether the escape was an inside job or how it happened.
On Friday, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said the men were able to get out of the Orleans Justice Center because of “defective locks,” and possibly with help from people inside her department.
“It’s almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help,” she said of the jail where 1,400 people are being held.
The escape is drawing intense scrutiny and opprobrium. It took hours for sheriff’s officials to learn of the escape and then more time still to alert New Orleans police, even though some of the missing inmates are accused of violent offenses and they escaped into a neighborhood less than 2 miles (3.2 km) from the city’s famous French Quarter.
Louisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel Robert Hodges said authorities in neighboring states have been notified but that officials do not believe the men have left the state yet. Leads for the men have not panned out, he said.
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