An employee at a New Orleans prison was accused of helping 10 inmates escape from the jail, according to the New York Post. This prison break happened at the Orleans Parish Justice Center on May 16.
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New Orleans Prison Employee Arrested For Aiding 10 Inmates In Escape
33-year-old Sterling Williams was arrested for allegedly aiding in their escape. Williams claimed that one of the inmates threatened to “shank” him if he didn’t help them. He also admitted to cutting off the water in the cells so the prisoners could escape through the opening behind the toilet.
The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office shared the photo of the escape route. It shows taunting messages that the inmates left behind on the wall, one saying “To Easy LoL.”
Three days after the jail break, the authorities arrested Williams. The court document noted that the employee “willfully and maliciously assisted with the escape.”
If he didn’t turn the water off, the escape plan would’ve failed since the cell could’ve flooded with water. Documents mentioned that without Williams’ help, they never would’ve escaped.
Due to the severity of the crime, Williams was charged with 10 counts of principal to simple escape and one count of malfeasance in office.
Williams wasn’t the only employee under questioning. The police have suspended three other workers during the investigation. Even Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said this prison break likely had help from the inside.
“It’s almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help,” she said.
The sheriff also blamed the escape on faulty locks, as per NewsNation. Hutson has allegedly been trying to solve the defective lock issue since she took office.
As of Tuesday morning, the authorities have only caught four of the 10 prisoners. The inmates made their break early Friday morning, around 1 AM. After crawling through the opening in the wall, they left through a door, scaled a wall, and fled across the interstate.
The police identified all of the escaped prisoners, some of whom have murder charges: Corey Boyd, Dkenan Dennis, Jermaine Donald, Derrick Groves, Antoine Massey, Robert Moody, Kendell Myles, Gary Price, Leo Tate, and Lenton Vanburen, per WVUE.