New Orleans escapee allegedly told sister to wait for him outside lockup on night of jailbreak
As the mission to capture all 10 New Orleans jail escapees inches closer to completion, court documents and dramatic video of a vehicle chase reveal some of their tracks, authorities said.
Eight of the 10 are in custody following three arrests on Monday, including the capture of two escapees in an SUV who led authorities on a high-speed chase along Texas roadways, a pursuit that was captured on dashboard and body camera footage.
The video shows a white SUV as it makes a couple of U-turns and speeds away as a long line of law enforcement vehicles follows. The SUV comes to a stop, law enforcement moves in with guns drawn, and the two, Jermaine Donald and Leo Tate, are pulled out at gunpoint.
State police said a U.S. Marshals Service task force that includes Texas authorities received a tip the pair was in Walker County, and they subsequently spotted an SUV they believed was being used by the duo on State Highway 75 on Monday evening before giving chase, according to a statement.
A third escapee was arrested separately early Monday evening, authorities said.
Lenton Vanburen, 26, was located and arrested by Baton Rouge police after they received a tip he was sitting on a bench near a department store, according to a statement. Vanburen had been incarcerated on charges of violating parole, possession of firearm by a felon and illegally carrying a weapon, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in her own statement Monday.
Meanwhile, court documents and a press release from Louisiana State Police expose some of the alleged cooperation it took for him to avoid capture up until that point.
Five people, including one identified as a sister and two others with the same family name as Vanburen, have been charged with helping him run and hide.
Investigators alleged in affidavits supporting the arrests of the five that Vanburen used a jail phone to call his sisters the night before the escape.
The state police detectives said that in addition to telling the pair to ask his girlfriend to get him a “clean phone,” the escapee instructed one of the sisters, 28-year-old Lenika Vanburen, to wait outside the Orleans Justice Center lockup by 11 p.m. on May 15.
The 10 inmates escaped during the midnight hour on May 16. It’s unclear whether Lenika Vanburen went to wait for her brother outside jail, but investigators said that shortly after midnight, she went to pick up her mother, who had been released from prison in a separate case.
According to an arrest report, the second sister — who has not been charged — said that after the escape, they saw their brother via FaceTime, when an associate of another escapee called them from a vehicle in which their brother was also riding.
The sisters eventually drove to the home of Angel McKey, 41, where the associate had dropped Vanburen off, the report states. Lenton Vanburen Sr., 48, also lives in the residence, investigators said in court documents. The sisters left soon thereafter, investigators said.
Vanburen Sr. allowed Vanburen to use his cellphone as well as the home’s shower, and provided toiletry items and clothing, state police investigators allege, according to the court documents.
They also allege Tysheana Randolph, 27, and Patricia Vanburen, 18, brought Vanburen to a residence in Mississippi identified as that of another family member.
The five arrested in connection with Lenton Vanburen’s escape — Lenika Vanburen, Tyshanea Randolph, Patricia Vanburen, Angel McKey, and Lenton Vanburen Sr. — are each charged with accessory after the fact, according to court documents. State law says an accessory after the fact is “any person who, after the commission of a felony, shall harbor, conceal, or aid the offender.”
One additional defendant, 21-year-old Diamond White, is charged with principle to aggravated escape and obstruction of justice in connection to Antoine Massey, one of the two inmates from the May 16 escape who was still at large Tuesday, state police said in announcing a round of arrests related to the escape on Monday.
Court dates for McKey and Lenton Vanburen Sr. have been scheduled for July 22, according to court dockets. Bond has been set at $1 million for each.
It’s not clear if the defendants accused of helping the escapees have obtained legal counsel. The public defender’s office in New Orleans did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The six defendants are part of the more than dozen people who have been arrested in connection with helping the escapees so far.
The other inmate still at large Tuesday was identified as Derrick Groves, convicted of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Fair, speaking after the high-speed pursuit in Texas, described the two inmates still at large as “extremely dangerous.”