Updated May 27, 2025 at 11:22 AM EDT
As authorities search for the remaining fugitives who escaped from a New Orleans jail earlier this month, they are also apprehending a growing number of their alleged accomplices.
More than a dozen people have been arrested for helping the 10 men, either before or after they escaped through a hole in the wall of the Orleans Justice Center in the early morning hours of May 16. Two of the men are still on the run as of Tuesday.
"If anyone else is helping out the remaining two escapees they will also be arrested and prosecuted," Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill tweeted. "We will not tolerate it."
The escapees — many of whom were awaiting sentences or trials for alleged violent crimes including murder — broke free overnight by yanking open a faulty cell door, climbing through a hole in the wall behind a toilet, scaling a barbed wire fence and running across an interstate.
They were only discovered missing hours later during a routine morning headcount, by which point all that remained was surveillance footage of their escape and taunting messages scrawled on the bathroom wall, including "To easy LoL."
Three of the men were captured later that same day, and two others were captured the following week. Louisiana State Police have said each of them was found in New Orleans, rebooked on additional charges including simple escape and transported to a "secure state facility outside of the area." Murrill has said that all five are being held without bond.
State police announced the capture of three additional fugitives on Monday, 10 days after the jailbreak. Lenton Vanburen was arrested by local police in Baton Rouge — about 82 miles away from New Orleans — while Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald were arrested in Walker County, Texas.
The Huntsville Police Department in Texas said that Tate and Donald were arrested "after leading law enforcement officers from several agencies on a high-speed chase through the Huntsville area." Both were taken to the local jail for processing and are facing additional charges.
Update: On May 26, 2025, three of the remaining fugitives were taken into custody.
— LA State Police (@LAStatePolice) May 27, 2025
Lenton Vanburen was arrested in Baton Rouge by the Baton Rouge Police Department.
Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald were arrested in Walker County, Texas by the Texas Department of Public Safety. pic.twitter.com/8I3dcWGUAW
Authorities say the two men still on the run, Antoine Massey and Derrick Groves, should be considered armed and dangerous.
Groves was convicted of second-degree murder in a 2018 Mardi Gras double shooting, while Massey faces charges of domestic abuse involving strangulation, theft of a motor vehicle and a parole violation, according to court records. Massey has escaped from detention three times since 2007, WWL-TV reports.
Federal and state investigators are offering a reward of $20,000 for information leading to either man's arrest.
Who is accused of helping them escape?
The attorney general's office is investigating, as Murrill put it, "everything that occurred before the violent inmates at the Orleans Justice Center crossed the wall."
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson has blamed a lack of resources — from faulty locks to staffing shortages — for the jailbreak and has taken full responsibility for the incident. But local and state authorities also believe the escapees had help on the inside.
"There's no way for anyone to get out of this facility without help," Hutson said in the initial aftermath.
The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office (OPSO) immediately placed three employees on suspension without pay pending the outcome of the investigation. Last Tuesday, the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation (LBI) made its first arrest: a jail maintenance worker who is accused of helping the men escape by shutting off water in the cell.
According to court records, 33-year-old Sterling Williams told investigators he had done so at the direction of Antoine Massey, "who threatened to shank him if he did not turn the water."
His lawyer, Michael Kennedy, later told the Associated Press that a deputy had tasked Williams with fixing an overflowing toilet. He called Williams "nothing more than the tool they used to turn off the water, which they knew would have to happen after clogging the toilet."
Kennedy said Williams did not report the escape plan to authorities because he didn't know about it. And he downplayed the idea that Williams was acting out of fear, saying Massey approached him while he was working and was "just talking to talk."
"Yes, someone said they would shank him," Kennedy said. "They didn't say it in a particularly threatening manner. They said it more as an aside."
Days later, the LBI arrested a second man, 23-year-old Trevon Williams — who was already being held in the prison — with 10 counts of "principal to simple escape." Investigators said they obtained "sufficient evidence" that Williams assisted with the escape, but have not released details.
Who is accused of helping after the escape?
Last week, Louisiana State Police arrested two women for allegedly helping some of the fugitives: 32-year-old Cortnie Harris of New Orleans and 38-year-old Corvanntay Baptiste of Slidell.
Investigators allege that Harris was in touch with an unnamed escapee — by phone — before the escape, and later "transported two escapees … to multiple locations in New Orleans." They say Baptiste was in contact by phone and social media with since-captured escapee Corey Boyd, "and helped facilitate getting him food while he was hiding in a residence."
They were each charged with one felony count of "accessories after the fact," and if convicted could face a $500 fine or five years in prison.
That same week, state police separately arrested 59-year-old Connie Weeden on the same charge. Investigators allege that she was in contact by phone before and after the escape with Jermaine Donald (who was captured Monday), and sent him cash through a phone app afterward.
Meanwhile, the New Orleans Police Department announced the arrest of another woman, 30-year-old Casey Smith, for allegedly assisting two unnamed escapees "as they were transported to multiple locations in the hours following their escape." Police said upon questioning, Smith "admitted to her role in aiding the escapees' transport" along with Harris.
Louisiana State Police announced six more arrests on Monday. They arrested Diamond White, 21, for allegedly assisting escapee Antoine Massey, who remains at large. White was charged with principal to aggravated escape and obstruction of justice.
The other five were arrested for allegedly assisting another escapee, Lenton Vanburen, who is back in custody. They are: Lenika Vanburen, 28; Tyshanea Randolph, 27; Patricia Vanburen, 18; Angel McKay, 41 and Lenton Vanburen Sr., 48.
The Orleans Public Defenders office — which court records show is representing at least six of the alleged accomplices — declined to comment on pending cases. It was not immediately clear whether the others had retained lawyers.
State police are warning anyone else who may be helping escapees that they can either cooperate with law enforcement and get a reward or face arrest and a high bond.
"Individuals who choose to assist, conceal, or harbor these fugitives are violating the law and will be arrested, regardless of the level of assistance given or where they are found," state police said. "Harboring fugitives threatens the safety of our communities and will not be tolerated."
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