Three of 10 inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail were apprehended by Friday night, while authorities continued to search for seven others in a jailbreak that may have had inside help, officials said.
As of Saturday afternoon, the seven who evaded authorities remained at large, according to a statement from the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The escape from the Orleans Parish Justice Center was discovered during a routine head count around 8:30 a.m. Friday, and there are signs that it was done with the help of people “inside of our department,” Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said.
Three employees have been placed on leave without pay and an investigation is underway, the sheriff’s office said. Hutson called it a “very serious and unacceptable situation.”
The inmates broke out by breaching a wall, Hutson said. Video shows several inmates jarring open a cell door at 12:22 a.m., then inmates enter that cell, and at 1 a.m. video shows them leaving a loading dock door, the sheriff’s office said. At 1:19 a.m., video shows them scaling a fence with blankets, it said.
“They were able to break open a door,” Hutson said. “They were still able to exit the jail about 1:01 a.m. after breaching a wall behind a toilet in the jail.”
Their clothes were later found discarded, the sheriff’s office said.
Hutson earlier told reporters that an employee had been in the pod module at the time, but the sheriff’s office later said that a civilian corrections technician monitor had stepped away for food.
By the time the person returned to their post, the men had already broken into the cell and had fled, so the employee did not know an escape had occurred, officials said.
Photos released by the sheriff’s office show the inside of a cell where the escape is believed to have happened. A large hole was cut behind a toilet with phrases such as “We Innocent” and “To Easy LoL” written above it.
When asked by a reporter if power tools had been used, parish Chief of Corrections Jay Mallett said it was something the department was looking into.
“It’s more than just a breach of security. It was some type of help,” he said at a news conference. “It would definitely be some type of tool used other than just the strength of a sheer individual.”
The sheriff’s office initially said that 11 inmates had escaped. Hutson clarified that one man, Keith Lewis, had been moved to a different cell and was never on the run.
The three men who were apprehended were transported to a secure state correctional facility outside the area, the sheriff’s office said on Saturday. During the transfer, one of the inmates exhibited “hostile behavior,” requiring troopers to use a spit hood to ensure their safety, the sheriff’s office said.
How the escape happened is under investigation, but Hutson said the inmates may have gotten help.
“We have indication that these detainees received assistance in their escape from individuals inside of our department,” she said.
Jail records show that at least four of the escaped inmates are charged with murder or attempted murder. Charges for the others include aggravated assault with a firearm, armed robbery with a firearm, armed false imprisonment, battery and drug offenses.
Authorities announced the arrests of three of the inmates over the course of Friday, the most recent shortly after 10 p.m., when the sheriff’s office said that Dkenan Dennis, 24, was in custody.
Earlier, state police shared a photo of Kendall Myles in a police car after he was captured in the French Quarter following a brief foot pursuit.
He was found hiding beneath a car in the Hotel Monteleone parking garage, the sheriff’s office said. Myles faces a new charge of simple escape.
Myles, 20, had escaped the Bridge City Center in 2022, NBC affiliate WDSU of New Orleans reported. He was indicted in an attempted murder and carjacking case after he and an accomplice were accused of robbing a 59-year-old man, the district attorney’s office said in a September 2022 news release.
Authorities said Myles allegedly shot the man twice before taking his car, the release stated.
The second escapee, Robert Moody, was captured Friday night and taken back into custody, the sheriff’s office said. No other details on his arrest or further charges were announced.
Gov. Jeff Landry celebrated the arrest of the third escaped inmate Friday night. “3 down 7 to go, and we ARE NOT slowing down!” he wrote on X, adding, “LOCK THEM UP!”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said her office was calling for an investigation and will “do whatever it takes” to determine what happened.
“Someone clearly dropped the ball and there’s no excuse for this,” she wrote in a post on X. “I am calling for a full investigation — This is beyond unacceptable, and once these offenders are back in custody, there must be real accountability.”
The sheriff’s office said it was working with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies “in a full-scale search operation.”
Hutson told the public not to engage with or approach the inmates.
“We are urging the public to remain alert,” she said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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