Three inmates accused of escaping from New Orleans’ main lockup in one of Louisiana’s biggest jailbreaks ever have been apprehended, leaving two at large, officials said Monday.
Jermaine Donald, 42, who was jailed on charges of second-degree murder and other crimes before he escaped, was taken into custody in Texas with another inmate accused of fleeing the Orleans Justice Center on May 16, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement.
That inmate, Leo Tate, 31, had been in custody on burglary and firearms charges, Murrill said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety arrested the two men in Walker County, north of Houston, the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Separately, Lenton Vanburen, 26, who was jailed on firearms and parole violation charges, was taken into custody in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the city’s police department said in a statement.
The three inmates will face additional charges, Murrill said in a statement. It was not immediately clear whether they have lawyers to speak on their behalf.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Fair attributed the capture of Donald and Tate to a dayslong, multi-agency effort that tracked the pair to the Houston metro area. He said the U.S. Marshals Office for the Southern District of Texas responded after being forwarded a “collateral lead.”
The suspects were taken into custody during a traffic stop, he said.
Fair described the remaining two inmates who have not been captured as “extremely dangerous” and said they could be anywhere.
“Both of them and other of the people on the run have had a support network in the New Orleans area, but they could be outside of the New Orleans area,” he said. “It’s going to take a lot more work to figure out where they are exactly.”
One of the men, Derrick Groves, was convicted of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder last October.
Several people, including a jail maintenance worker, have been accused of assisting in the escape.
Sterling Williams, who was charged with principle to simple escape and malfeasance in office, cut off the water to a cell’s toilet so inmates could remove it without flooding the area, Murrill alleged in a news release last week.
According to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant, Williams told authorities that one of the inmates who escaped threatened to “shank” him if he did not help.
That inmate, identified in the document as Antoine Massey, has not been apprehended.
Williams’ lawyer disputed the affidavit, saying his client was unaware of the inmates’ escape plan. Williams turned off the water, the attorney told the Associated Press, to help fix a clogged toilet.
After the men removed the toilet, the affidavit alleges, the inmates sawed through steel bars and escaped through a hole in the wall before they scaled a barbed-wire fence using blankets.
A photo released by authorities showed the phrases “To Easy Lol” and “We Innocent” written above the toilet.
