Orleans Parish officials say ten dangerous inmates escaped the parish jail Friday morning. By lunchtime, police arrested one of the escapees while the other ten remained at large. An eleventh inmate was initially reported among the escapees but was later located in another cell.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said the escape happened with help from “inside of our department,” NBC News reported. She called the situation “very serious and unacceptable.”
NEW: The inmates who escaped a jail in New Orleans did so "because of defective locks on the cells," officials said.
— ABC News (@ABC) May 16, 2025
"There is no way people can get out of this facility without there being some type of lapse in security." https://t.co/QOIAIzojP5 pic.twitter.com/xjBMvDj9rD
Hutson explained in an 8:30 a.m. press conference that shortly after midnight, the inmates began pulling on a cell door to yank it off its track.
“They were able to break open a door,” the Hutson explained. “They were still able to exit the jail about 1:01 a.m. after breaching a wall behind a toilet in the jail.” She added that there was a jail employee in the pod module at the time.
Video surveillance shows the inmates exiting the facility through a door on the loading docks. From there, the escapees scaled a wall and fled across the interstate highway.
BREAKING
— World Affairs Eye (@WorldAffairsEye) May 16, 2025
Eleven people break out of New Orleans jail, including man convicted of killings pic.twitter.com/M55JKTnjHM
One of the eleven reported above was later found to have been moved to another cell before the early Friday morning jail break.
Fox 8 news reported the ten escapees were identified as:
- Antoine Massey, domestic abuse and theft
- Lenton Venburen, illegal carrying of weapon
- Leo Tate, burglary, illegal carrying of weapon
- Kendell Myles, intentional concealment of weapon
- Derrick Groves, murder, attempted murder
- Jermaine Donald, murder, aggravated battery
- Corey Boyd, murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery
- Gary Price, three counts of attempted murder
- Robert Moody
- Dkenan Dennis
The sheriff blamed defective locks, which she had been complaining about for years, for the circumstances leading to the escape. Hutson added that the escapees may have received assistance from individuals inside her jail. An internal investigation is underway.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said, “Someone clearly dropped the ball and there’s no excuse for this.”
Louisiana State Police report the arrest of one of the escapees, Kendall Myles. Miles was facing a charge of intentional concealment of a weapon. Myles’ arrest followed a short foot pursuit that ended on Royal Street.
The statewide manhunt continues for the nine remaining escapees.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
