It has been one month since 10 inmates escaped the Orleans Parish jail, and all but two inmates have been recaptured.
Two inmates, Antoine Massey and Derrick Groves, remain on the run.
Kendell Myles, Robert Moody, Gary Price, D’Kenan Dennis, Corey Boyd, Lenton Vanburen Jr., Jermaine Donald, and Leo Tate are all back in custody.
Here’s what we know about the two inmates who are still being sought:
Criminal history:
Massey has a criminal background that dates back to 2007.
That is the year he is said to have escaped a juvenile detention center that’s now known as the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center.
In 2019, he escaped the Morehouse Parish Detention Center and was found the same day in Texas.
He went on to cut off two ankle monitors, including one in 2023 inside a Walmart along Bullard. The owner of that ankle monitor, ASAP Ankle Monitoring officials said.
“When you cut an ankle monitor off, it’s a clear case of guilt. We know who we put it on. We know he took it off. There’s no in between,” said Matt Dennis, with ASAP.
Law enforcement officials confirm a home in the 1700 block of Agriculture Street was raided after they were tipped off that it was the home where escaped inmate Antoine Massey recorded now viral videos that were posted to social media on Sunday.
Officials said while Massey was not there at the home, they did find belongings believed to have been worn by Massey when the videos were recorded.
In the videos, Massey claims his innocence. He also said he was “let out” of OJC amongst other claims. WDSU has chosen not to show Massey making those claims.
The videos were online for at least 10 hours before WDSU saw them and sent them to law enforcement to help with their investigation. Some agencies WDSU reached out to had no idea about the videos until they were sent by the media to them.
Antoine Massey was being held on domestic abuse charges in St. Tammany before going to Orleans Justice Center, where he was being held on domestic abuse and car theft charges when he escaped in mid-May.
St. Tammany Parish officials said they had also issued warrants for Massey’s arrest for second-degree rape, second degree kidnapping, domestic violence and violation of a protective order while he was serving time in Orleans. St. Tammany Parish officials said those warrants were issued following an investigation into an incident that occurred in November of 2024 in Slidell.
Delving into Massey’s criminal history, he also escaped from two jails, one in 2007, and broke out of two ankle monitors.
To date, this is the longest stretch of time Massey has gone without being captured following an escape.
Groves was jailed on three counts of attempted second-degree murder. He had just been convicted in October 2024 in the case.
Sources close to WDSU confirm that Derrick Groves is the grandson of Kim Groves, who was the center of one of New Orleans’ most notorious murders.
Kim Groves was a 32-year-old mother of three when she was gunned down in the 9th Ward in October 1994. Specifically, the incident occurred along Alabo Street in the Lower 9th Ward. The hit was ordered by corrupt NOPD officer Len Davis.
Groves’ girlfriend, Darriana Burton, 28, was arrested in connection with helping him escape. Her bond was set at $2.5 million.
She is facing felony charges for conspiracy to commit simple escape.
Inmates captured:
A total of eight inmates have been captured in the days following the escape.
The first inmate captured was Kendell Myles. Myles was arrested in the French Quarter after he was found hiding in a hotel parking garage.
The second inmate captured was Robert Moody. Moody was taken into custody by state police in Central City.
D’kenan Dennis was arrested on Chef Highway in New Orleans East on Tuesday.
All three were taken into custody within 24 hours of their escape.
On Monday, state police took Gary Price into custody in New Orleans East.
The fifth inmate arrested was Corey Boyd. WDSU obtained exclusive video showing him being taken into custody at a Treme apartment complex Tuesday night.
All five were held without bond on escape charges and are being held at Angola.
The sixth inmate arrested was Lenton Vanburen. Vanburen was arrested in Baton Rouge by Louisiana State Police and the Baton Rouge police Monday night.
Police said they received an anonymous tip from a concerned citizen.
Vanburen was arrested while sitting on a bench near a department store on Hammond Aire in Baton Rouge.
Two more inmates, Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald, were also recaptured Monday night in Walker County, Texas, by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
How they escaped:
According to the sheriff’s office, jail officials discovered the inmates were missing during a routine head count at 8:30 a.m.
The inmates dug a hole inside the jail behind a toilet to make their escape.
According to Sheriff Susan Hutson, the escape by the inmates was an inside job, and three employees have been suspended, and one maintenance worker has been arrested in connection with the investigation so far.
According to Huston, around 12:23 a.m., the inmates began tampering with a locked cell and were able to break in. That cell was where the hole was cut behind a toilet.
According to Hutson, a correctional monitoring technician in the control module was present. This person is considered a civilian employee.
The inmates were able to escape the jail through a door at 1:01 a.m.
Video surveillance confirms that they exited through a door in the docks where supplies are brought into the jail, according to Huston.
The United States Marshals Service, Louisiana State Police, and Probation and Parole were notified by 9:30 a.m., and the New Orleans Police Department was alerted immediately afterward through the Fusion Center, according to Hutson.
The person who was in the center monitoring the pod from which the inmates escaped was a civilian employee. The employee stepped away to get food when the inmates broke into the cell they escaped from, according to the sheriff’s office.
The FBI joined the search for the inmates at 4:30 p.m. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrests of the inmates.
Law enforcement response:
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order Wednesday following the escape of 10 inmates from the Orleans Parish jail.
Landry signed the executive order, calling for the inspector general to oversee audits of the case files involving the escapes, as well as instructing Attorney General Liz Murrill to lead the investigation into the escape.
According to the order, Landry also will have the department of correction review the jail’s operations for compliance with jail standards.
Landry ordered all the Department of Corrections inmates at the jail to be relocated to other state-run facilities.
Landry’s executive order also asks the Louisiana Supreme Court to review the Orleans Parish Criminal Court, specifically documenting delays in sentencing as well as judge’s performance in high-crime parishes.
The Metropolitan Crime Commission was also tapped to create a system to track cases from arrest to conviction.
An audit into the Orleans Parish jail began Tuesday, according to a news release issued by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
The audit comes after Landry called on Murrill to investigate issues inside the jail regarding its budget and security challenges.
The news release issued by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections said that 10 “seasoned auditors” will conduct the audit.
The auditors have turned over their report to Gov. Jeff Landry. The audit will not be released until Landry releases it.
The audit will comprise 119 standards that the jail will either comply with or not comply with.
The Orleans Parish sheriff and other staff members have been subpoenaed by the district attorney’s office as part of an investigation into an inmate escape, according to WDSU sources.
Those same sources told WDSU Investigates that the subpoenas are requesting all copies of Hutson’s text messages, emails and other communications from midnight Friday until Sunday night.
The district attorney’s office is using an Orleans Parish grand jury to formally issue the subpoenas as part of the investigative process.
The Louisiana state attorney general is also conducting a full audit and probe into the escape at the jail.
How you can help:
A $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the capture of each inmate.
Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 1-800-Call-FBI or send digital tips to fbi.gov/neworleansfugitives.
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