Reward increased for last 2 fugitives in mass New Orleans break out, police say they’re ‘closing in’
Authorities are offering a reward of up to $50,000 each for the two inmates who remain on the run after escaping a New Orleans jail earlier this month.
Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans and the FBI New Orleans announced at a Thursday news conference that it was upping each of their rewards to $20,000 per inmate. The ATF is offering a $10,000 reward per inmate.
Eight of the 10 inmates who escaped the Orleans Justice Center on May 16 have been captured. Antoine Massey and Derick Groves remain on the run.
“Today marks day 13 in our search for escapees Antoine Massey and Derrick Groves, and we want you to know that we will find them,” said Jonathan Tapp, Special Agent in Charge at FBI New Orleans.
Louisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel Robert P. Hodges said authorities are closing in on Massey and Groves.
“We should have them in custody soon,” he said, telling reporters that the two inmates are getting help and moving around the city, “the walls are closing in.”
Officials said tips from the public led to the capture of three of the escapees. One reward has already been paid out, and the other two will be paid soon.
More than a dozen people have been arrested and charged with allegedly helping some of the escapees.
Five people were charged with helping Lenton Vanburen, 26, run and hide, authorities said. Vanburen was arrested Monday by Baton Rouge police after they received a tip from a “concerned citizen,” according to a statement. He was apprehended while sitting on a bench near a department store.
Last week, jail maintenance worker Sterling Williams was arrested and charged after authorities accused him of cutting off the water in a cell so inmates could pull the toilet from the wall and flee. According to an affidavit for an arrest warrant, Williams told investigators that Massey had threatened to shank him if he did not help.
Michael Kennedy, a lawyer for Williams, denied that his client was trying to assist the inmates in escaping. Kennedy said Williams turned the water off because the toilet in an unused handicapped cell was clogged.
A photo released by the Orleans Parish Justice Center showed a hole in the wall behind the toilet with phrases such as “To Easy Lol” and “We Innocent” written above it.