A growing number of New Orleans fugitives' friends and family arrested for aiding in jail escape

NEW ORLEANS -- The 10 men who escaped from a New Orleans jailhouse much than 2 weeks agone by cutting retired a spread down a toilet received assistance from astatine slightest 14 people, galore of them friends and household who provided food, cash, transport and structure according to tribunal documents.

Records reviewed by The Associated Press amusement however immoderate of the fugitives received assistance earlier and aft their flight — including from a fig of radical named successful constabulary reports but not yet facing charges.

A erstwhile jailhouse worker is accused of driving escapee Lenton Vanburen to a relative's location and helping him FaceTime household the time of the escape, portion different person aboriginal offered him a hiding spot successful a vacant flat helium had been hired to repaint.

Others sent wealth via apps, lied to authorities during interrogation and messaged oregon called the fugitives, constabulary say. Some are present held connected bonds $1 cardinal oregon higher and astir look the felony complaint of accessory aft the fact.

In a metropolis with an entrenched mistrust of the transgression justness system, authorities connected Thursday raised the reward to $50,000 per fugitive. They stressed that friends and household are cardinal to capturing the 2 remaining escapees, convicted murderer Derrick Groves and Antoine Massey, who faces kidnapping and rape charges.

“We recognize that immoderate of you mightiness beryllium reporting a friend, a loved one, a comparative and albeit not easy, it is captious to your information and the information of the nationalist that you study them,” Jonathan Tapp, peculiar cause successful complaint of FBI New Orleans, said Thursday.

After the audacious flight successful the aboriginal hours of May 16, a pistillate who constabulary described arsenic “associated” with Groves “picked up” and transported escapee Vanburen to a relative's residence, the documents show.

She past video-called Vanburen's sisters, who came to conscionable him.

This pistillate — who has not been charged with aiding successful the flight — shares the aforesaid sanction arsenic a erstwhile Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office employee, according to tribunal records. In 2023, that worker was arrested for bringing a folding weapon and a container of Cheetos containing baccy and marijuana into the jail.

The charges were dropped successful portion owed to the woman's deficiency of transgression past and she “successfully completed” a pretrial diversion program, the Orleans Parish District Attorney's bureau told The Associated Press. The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office did not respond to petition for comment.

In a substance connection to an AP reporter, the pistillate denied bringing successful contraband oregon aiding fugitives.

Separately, authorities arrested a jailhouse plumber they accidental helped the men escape, but his lawyer maintains helium was conscionable trying to unclog a toilet.

Several escapees, including Massey, relied connected net telephone services to pass with accomplices and “avoid detection" by not leaving a way of cellular signals, constabulary reports say.

Escapee Corey Boyd utilized an net telephone work to connection respective contacts seeking wealth and entree to their iCloud accounts, threatening to termination 1 idiosyncratic if they did not comply, tribunal records show.

The FBI reviewed months of calls from Boyd's “top caller” portion incarcerated. They past recovered a little telephone from a caller telephone fig the nighttime aft the flight and utilized that to assistance way down Boyd. They discovered that Boyd’s aunt was messaging him connected Instagram to assistance him get nutrient arsenic hid successful the flat wherever a SWAT squad captured him May 20.

One of the women accused of helping Massey suffered from years of carnal maltreatment from him, tribunal records show.

The woman, who had antecedently filed a protective bid against Massey aft helium attempted to strangle her, was alert of his planned flight and aboriginal misled authorities, constabulary say.

She exchanged messages with Massey’s 31-year-old sister saying they hoped helium "never gets caught."

Authorities staked retired the New Orleans location of Massey’s sister but a hunt six days aft the flight turned up empty-handed. Police learned Massey had been wrong the location earlier the raid and altered and deleted grounds connected his sister's phone.

Court records amusement constabulary impeach Massey's sister of lying to them, slowing down the manhunt and forcing them to suffer “critical days and hours” successful the search.

At slightest 7 of the radical facing felony charges for aiding the fugitives person ties to Lenton Vanburen, Jr. according to authorities.

After alerting 2 of his sisters by situation telephone successful the hours earlier his escape, helium instructed they interaction “my girl” and supply her with a “clean phone” truthful the 2 could communicate.

The pistillate identified by constabulary arsenic Vanburen's emotion involvement told The Associated Press she ne'er received the telephone and denied engagement successful the flight plans.

Vanburen's sisters met up with him the nighttime of his flight astatine a household member's residence wherever helium was capable to shower, alteration apparel and was fixed toiletries. Another household subordinate aboriginal reportedly took him to a relative's location successful Mississippi.

Vanburen was yet captured successful Baton Rouge, Louisiana, connected Monday and 2 men arrested this week were accused of helping him find structure successful a edifice — paid for successful currency — and an flat undergoing renovation. The Baton Rouge tribunal strategy had nary grounds of their ineligible representation.

In different case, a 59-year-old Louisiana pistillate is accused of sending currency to fugitive Jermaine Donald, a household friend, according to her attorney.

Lindsey Hortenstine, communications manager for the Orleans Parish Public Defenders’ office, said that astir of the radical arrested successful transportation with helping the fugitives person not yet secured attorneys.

Louisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel Robert Hodges said tips from friends and household stay indispensable to locating the remaining fugitives.

“They’re tired, they’re looking implicit their shoulder, looking for resources,” Hodges said. “I deliberation the vantage goes to instrumentality enforcement and we request the public’s assistance to guarantee that we support that advantage.”

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Brook is simply a corps subordinate for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is simply a nonprofit nationalist work programme that places journalists successful section newsrooms to study connected undercovered issues.