New reward for info connected New Orleans escapees
New Orleans — As the hunt continues for the past two New Orleans jailhouse escapees who are inactive astatine large, respective agencies person pitched successful to summation the currency reward for accusation starring to their arrests.
The reward has been hiked to $50,000 per escapee, authorities announced Thursday, a hefty summation from the $20,000 magnitude that had been successful spot for much than a week following the brazen May 16 escape of 10 inmates from the Orleans Justice Center. Eight of the 10 person been captured.
One of the men inactive astatine ample — Derrick Groves — was convicted of execution for the shooting deaths of Jamar Robinson and Byron Jackson successful 2024. The different escapee — Antoine Massey — was being held connected charges of home maltreatment involving strangulation anterior to the jailbreak.
Remaining 2 fugitives whitethorn person escaped Louisiana, authoritative says
Louisiana State Police Col. Robert Hodges said successful a quality league Thursday that portion helium does not judge Groves oregon Massey person the resources to fly the U.S., they whitethorn person escaped Louisiana acknowledgment to the assistance from different imaginable accomplices, and fixed the magnitude of clip that has passed.
Hodges besides said Massey and Groves whitethorn person besides had clip to alteration their appearance, but that clip has apt taken a toll connected them, adding, "they are tired, they are moving retired of resources."
Officials clasp a quality league successful New Orleans, Louisiana, connected May 29, 2025, to supply updates connected the probe into the flight of 10 inmates from a New Orleans jailhouse connected May 16, 2025.
CBS News
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill had told CBS News successful an interrogation Wednesday that the 2 whitethorn beryllium successful different cities.
"They tin support running, but they can't fell forever," Murrill said.
Authorities said adjacent immoderate household members of the 10 escapees person called successful with tips to assistance way down the escapees.
"Some of you mightiness beryllium reporting a friend, a loved one, a relative," said Jonathan Tapp, peculiar cause successful complaint of the FBI New Orleans Field Office, during the quality conference. "It mightiness not beryllium easy."
Hodges dismissed concerns flagged by immoderate members of the nationalist that household members of the escapees could effort and instrumentality vantage of the reward strategy to divided the wealth with the inmates themselves.
He commended those household members who helium said person called successful adjuvant tips.
Authorities person received much than 700 tips
According to Darlene Cusanza, caput of the nonprofit Crimestoppers Greater New Orleans office, 3 tipsters truthful acold are acceptable to person awards for their assistance successful arresting 3 of the fugitives and immoderate alleged accomplices.
One idiosyncratic has already been paid astatine slightest $10,000, and 2 much radical are acceptable to beryllium paid soon, Cusanza said astatine the quality conference.
More than 700 tips from the nationalist person poured successful since the May 16 escape, Cusanza said, and the Crimestoppers bureau has had to unfastened up 4 much telephone lines to accommodate each of the calls they are receiving.
So far, astatine slightest 14 radical person been arrested connected allegations they helped the inmates either earlier oregon aft the escape, including 1 worker of the jail.
From apical left, DKenan Dennis, Gary Price, Robert Moody, Kendell Myles and Corey Boyd are seen successful a operation of photos provided by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. From bottommost left, Lenton VanBuren, Jermaine Donald, Antoine Massey, Derrick Groves and Leo Tate are seen.
Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office via AP
Investigation ongoing into however flight was carried out
Authorities said that successful the aboriginal greeting hours of May 16, the 10 inmates broke retired of the New Orleans jailhouse by ripping a toilet from the partition of a jailhouse compartment to which they were not assigned, cutting alloy bars, and digging retired a spread successful the partition down the toilet.
The men allegedly crawled retired of the spread to a loading dock, scaled an exterior factual partition of the jailhouse analyzable and darted crossed a freeway to freedom.
Outside the Orleans Justice Center jailhouse connected May 29, 2025. Ten inmates escaped from the jailhouse connected May 16.
CBS News
The men adjacent took the clip to constitute taunting messages connected the partition of the compartment earlier they made a tally for it, including, "we innocent," and different misspelled, "to casual LOL."
Jail unit didn't announcement the inmates were gone for much than 7 hours, and it took a fewer much hours aft that for the nationalist to beryllium notified.
Even New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said that, connected the greeting of the escape, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson didn't notify her astir what had occurred until aft she saw media reports online during a gathering with different managers successful her department.
"We're each sitting here, and (a unit member) said, 'Have you heard thing astir an escape?'," Kirkpatrick recalled successful an interrogation with CBS News. "We were like, 'No we don't cognize thing astir escape.' And past 1 of the different chiefs picked up his telephone and said, 'It's already successful the media.'"
The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office has faced crisp disapproval for its handling of the probe into however the flight occurred.
Hutson has alleged that for years she had been asking the metropolis for backing to marque captious upgrades to the correctional facility, but that she had been turned down repeatedly.
A 33-year-old attraction worker astatine the jailhouse has been arrested and charged with helping the inmates escape, and Murrill has said much worker arrests could beryllium coming.
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams says his bureau is combing done jailhouse telephone logs and cross-referencing fingerprints and DNA samples to ascertain who other moving astatine the jailhouse whitethorn person been involved.
The Louisiana Attorney General's Office is present starring the probe into failures astatine the installation that allowed the flight to hap successful the archetypal place. The Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office has besides been a portion of that investigation.
"There's truthful overmuch that's been troubling," Williams said successful an interrogation with CBS News Monday. "Everything's connected the table. I deliberation an unprecedented situation similar this, has unprecedented results."
Meanwhile, officials with the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Louisiana State Police and the New Orleans Police Department said Thursday they stay laser-focused connected getting Massey and Groves backmost successful cuffs.
As Kirkpatrick enactment it successful her interrogation with CBS News, "I'm not retired to digit point. I'm retired with a mission."
Kati Weis is simply a Murrow Award-winning newsman for CBS News based successful New Orleans, covering the Southeast. She antecedently worked arsenic an investigative newsman astatine CBS News Colorado successful their Denver newsroom.
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