Botched crime scene handling could derail prosecution of Orleans Parish jail escapees, former FBI agent says

The nonaccomplishment by law enforcement officials to instantly process the jailhouse compartment from which 10 inmates escaped connected May 16 arsenic a transgression country could jeopardize imaginable prosecutions of the inmates, an adept said.

"One of the archetypal things immoderate authoritative looks for is basal transgression country documentation: photos, grounds logs, and signs that instrumentality enforcement treated the country seriously," Jason Pack, a erstwhile FBI supervisory peculiar agent, told Fox News Digital. "Even if the facts look clear-cut, skipping those steps opens the doorway for defence attorneys to reason the probe was incomplete oregon sloppy."

On Thursday, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams made what helium called a "very unusual" move. 

Sheriff Susan Hutson arrives to the Council Chambers for a City Council gathering aft 10 inmates escaped Friday from the Orleans Parish Justice Center astatine City Hall successful New Orleans, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Sophia Germer /The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Noting that Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson had not ordered a transgression country probe wrong the jailhouse cell, helium assembled a squad of New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) transgression country technicians and personally accompanied them to the jailhouse to cod evidence. 

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"Time is besides of the essence erstwhile trying to get bully DNA samples oregon cod fingerprints to marque definite those areas are not molested oregon destroyed successful immoderate way," helium told the media astatine the time. "So I americium profoundly acrophobic that determination was not an contiguous petition by the sheriff to our section transgression laboratory to get successful determination and examine, document, sphere and cod each of the forensic grounds that was disposable determination truthful that we could already person it tested."

Pack said that the delayed postulation of grounds could assistance defence attorneys muddy the waters, and that Williams is apt tying up escaped ends to marque his imaginable cases arsenic bulletproof arsenic possible. 

Officials shared a photograph of the spread inmates look to person escaped through. (WVUE)

"Now that idiosyncratic from wrong the jailhouse has been charged with helping the escape, the territory lawyer was apt reasoning similar a authoritative from the start," helium said. "He would person been focused connected however the lawsuit volition look successful tribunal and what a justice oregon assemblage volition expect to see."

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Sterling Williams, 33, an worker of the sheriff's bureau and a attraction idiosyncratic astatine the jail, has been arrested and charged with 10 counts of main to elemental flight and malfeasance successful bureau for allegedly aiding the inmates successful their jailbreak. 

He is accused of turning disconnected the h2o successful the compartment from which the inmates escaped, allowing them to region a toilet that blocked a spread they had chopped into the cell's wall. 

Once the toilet was removed, they climbed done the hole, ran done an unguarded corridor, and past made a beeline for the jail's fence, hopping implicit it and onto the streets of New Orleans. 

Williams told investigators the inmates threatened to "shank" him if helium did not assistance them.

Photo of Sterling Williams, accused of helping 10 inmates flight from the Orleans Parish Jail. (Louisiana Department of Justice)

"For ineligible purposes, particularly erstwhile a transgression complaint has already been filed, the pod wherever the flight happened inactive needs to beryllium treated similar a transgression scene," Pack said. 

However, helium noted that the transgression country is simply a hectic area. The jailhouse has 1,400 inmates, and countless inmates and unit could person contaminated the transgression country by now. 

"It’s besides important to retrieve that a jailhouse pod isn’t a cleanable transgression scene. It’s a engaged place: guards, inmates, attraction workers," Pack said. "A batch of radical person access."

According to Pack, the fingerprint and DNA grounds mightiness not output a clear-cut reply arsenic to who mightiness person committed a crime. Instead, helium said, the worth successful collecting that grounds is to amusement successful tribunal that "every tenable measurement was taken" successful the investigation. 

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Williams said aft collecting grounds from the country that helium had asked each OPSO employees and different applicable parties to voluntarily taxable to fingerprinting successful bid to regularisation them retired arsenic suspects. He besides demanded that surveillance footage from 90 cameras successful the jailhouse from April 1 done May 21 beryllium handed implicit to his office. 

"Even erstwhile video shows however the flight happened, transgression country photos and records assistance beryllium that the lawsuit was handled professionally and by the book," Pack said. 

The May 16 aboriginal greeting flight included a convicted four-time killer, on with 9 others facing convulsive transgression charges stemming from second-degree execution to home maltreatment and felon successful possession of a firearm.

They taunted the authorities connected the mode out, penning "To casual LOL," on with different messages connected the partition of the cell. Authorities were unaware that the men were missing for astir 8 hours aft the escape. 

The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office did not respond to a petition for comment.

Authorities person been connected a manhunt since 10 inmates escaped from the jailhouse successful New Orleans. (Louisiana State Police)

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Two 100 local, authorities and national instrumentality enforcement officers person been progressive successful a manhunt for the suspects. 

As of Tuesday, 8 of the suspects person been recaptured, and 14 radical person been arrested for aiding them. 

Along with Williams, an inmate who did not flight with the radical of 10 became the 2nd idiosyncratic from wrong the jailhouse to beryllium charged with helping them escape.

Trevon Williams, 23, has been rebooked connected 10 counts of main to elemental flight for allegedly giving the escapees a broad and garment to assistance them hop the razor-wire obstruction during their escape. 

Arrests implicit the play included 28-year-old Lenika Vanburen, 18-year-old Patricia Vanburen, 27-year-old Tyshanea "Minnie" Randolph, 47-year-old Lenton Vanburen Sr. and 40-year-old Angel McKey – each accused of aiding the escapees. Lenton Vanburen Sr. is the begetter of escapee Lenton Vanburen, who has since been caught, a root confirmed to Fox News.

State constabulary said that Diamond White, 21, was besides arrested connected charges that see main to aggravated flight and obstruction of justice, USA Today reported.

Emmitt Weber, 28, was besides arrested for allegedly helping 2 of the inmates aft the escape. So was Casey Smith, 30, who reportedly admitted to driving immoderate of the inmates astir New Orleans aft they escaped. 

On Thursday night, the Louisiana State Police announced that it had arrested Connie Weeden, 59, who allegedly sent currency to then-fugitive Jermaine Donald via a cellphone app. 

Connie Weeden, 59, is believed to person assisted the fugitives and was taken into custody pursuing an probe that revealed she was successful interaction via telephone earlier and aft the flight with escapee Jermaine Donald. (ST Tammany Parish jail)

Before that, Cortnie Harris, 32, and Corvanntay Baptiste, 38, were arrested for allegedly assisting the fugitives. 

Harris is accused of transporting immoderate of the escapees to locations passim New Orleans aft the escape, and Baptiste is accused of being successful interaction with escapee Corey Boyd and bringing him nutrient aft the escape. 

Sources adjacent to the probe told Fox News that Baptiste is the woman of now-recaptured Boyd, who is accused of second-degree murder, and Harris is the woman of Leo Tate, who is inactive connected the run. 

On Monday, 3 much inmates were recaptured. 

Vanburen was caught successful Baton Rouge, and Tate and Donald were captured by the Texas Department of Public Safety successful Walker, Texas, according to the Louisiana State Police. 

Lenton Vanburen, an escaped inmate from a New Orleans jail, is ushered by constabulary into a helicopter. (Louisiana State Police)

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Groves remains connected the tally with Antoine Massey, a four-time jailhouse escapee who faces charges of home maltreatment involving strangulation, theft of a centrifugal conveyance and a parole violation.