The manhunt for two remaining escapees from the Orleans Parish Justice Center jailbreak on May 16, 2025, continues, with tensions escalating between Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson and District Attorney Jason Williams. Ten inmates, including Derrick Groves, 27, convicted of second-degree murder, and Antoine Massey, 32, charged with domestic abuse and other violent crimes, escaped by removing a toilet and sink, cutting through steel bars, and exiting through a hole in the cell wall, leaving a taunting note: “to easy LOL.” As of May 30, eight have been recaptured, with Groves and Massey still at large.
Sheriff Hutson faces intense scrutiny for security lapses, including defective locks and staffing shortages, with no deputy assigned to the escapees’ pod and a technician absent during the breakout. She has acknowledged “procedural failures and intentional wrongdoings,” suspending three staff members and arresting maintenance worker Sterling Williams, 33, for allegedly aiding the escape by turning off the water to the cell’s toilet after threats from an inmate. Williams faces 10 counts of principal to simple escape and malfeasance, with a $1.1 million bond. Nine others, including Cortnie Harris and Corvanntay Baptiste, have been charged with aiding the escapees post-breakout.
DA Williams has criticized Hutson for failing to request a formal crime scene investigation, delaying forensic evidence collection like DNA and fingerprints, which he says compromised the case. He demanded surveillance footage and staffing records since April 1 and suggested sheriff’s office staff could be investigated, requesting their DNA and fingerprints. Hutson, in turn, asked a judge to recuse Williams from the investigation, citing “personal animus,” though Williams claims he already handed the case to the Louisiana Attorney General.
The escape, one of Louisiana’s largest, has drawn over 200 law enforcement officers, with Project NOLA cameras aiding captures, though real-time alerts were suspended prior. Governor Jeff Landry ordered a jail audit and broader criminal justice probes, blaming delays in prosecutions, as nine escapees were pretrial detainees. Hutson, facing calls to resign, paused her reelection campaign, citing underfunding and longstanding jail issues under a federal consent decree since 2013. Rewards of $20,000 per escapee are offered.