In the early hours of Friday, just after midnight, a shocking jailbreak occurred at the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans. A corrections monitoring technician stepped away for food, leaving the facility in lockdown since 10:30 p.m. As the technician was away, a group of inmates began tampering with the door of Cell Delta 1006. They managed to break it open and accessed a nearby handicap cell. From there, one inmate squeezed through a small hole behind a metal toilet, followed by others. In total, ten inmates escaped from the New Orleans jail, leaving behind a message on the wall that read, “To Easy LoL.”
The inmates involved in this audacious escape ranged from 19 to 42 years old and faced serious charges, including murder, aggravated assault with a firearm, and domestic abuse battery. Law enforcement officials believe that the escape was premeditated, with evidence suggesting that the inmates received assistance. Toiletries were used to remove the toilet and sink, along with bolts in the cell. Additionally, at least one steel bar protecting plumbing fixtures appeared to have been deliberately cut, indicating the use of tools to facilitate their escape.
By around 1 a.m., nearly 40 minutes after the escape began, the inmates fled the jail through a loading door where supplies were brought in. They sprinted and leapt off the dock, wearing a blur of gray, beige, and orange jumpsuits. Some notable details from their escape included one inmate wearing a blue hat and two others donning orange shoes. In a chaotic moment, one man tripped over a fabric bundle he was carrying but quickly got back on his feet and disappeared from view.
The group skillfully scaled a fence along Interstate 10, utilizing blankets to shield themselves from the barbed wire. They dashed across train tracks and multiple lanes of traffic, heading towards a nearby neighborhood where they discarded their jail uniforms. It wasn’t until a routine head count at 8:30 a.m. that officials discovered the inmates were missing. Initial reports suggested 11 escapees, but this was later corrected to 10, prompting a wide-ranging manhunt across Louisiana and seven adjacent states, including Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
As the authorities at the jail activated “emergency protocols,” the city of New Orleans remained unaware of the escape for several hours. The public was not informed until nearly 11 a.m., almost ten hours after the inmates had fled and three hours after the sheriff's office became aware of their absence. A citywide alert was not issued until 2:30 p.m. This delay raised significant concerns among local officials about the lack of transparency and communication.
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams expressed alarm upon learning that convicted individuals from his office were on the run. He emphasized the seriousness of the situation, stating that two of his employees had fled town due to safety concerns. Williams criticized the lack of immediate notification to the public, arguing that timely alerts are crucial for community safety.
As finger-pointing among state and local officials began, the sheriff's office reported that four supervisors and 36 staff members were on duty during the escape. Three jail employees were suspended without pay pending an internal investigation. Williams described the escape as a “complete failure” of basic responsibilities, while Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson attributed the incident to being “underfunded, understaffed, underpaid.”
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry weighed in, suggesting that political factors were at play, while state attorney general Liz Murrill stated unequivocally that someone must be held accountable for the security lapse. Reports indicated that a significant portion of the facility’s security cameras were non-operational at the time of the escape, raising further concerns about the jailbreak's execution.
As of Friday evening, authorities had captured two of the escapees—Dkenan Dennis and Robert Moody—who faced serious charges prior to their escape. The Louisiana State Police announced an increased reward for tips leading to the capture of the remaining seven inmates, highlighting the urgency of the situation. Security experts have voiced their outrage over the escape, calling it “unacceptable” and emphasizing the need for immediate reforms in the correctional facility's operations.
As the investigation continues, the focus remains on ensuring public safety and accountability within the New Orleans correctional system. The escape has not only raised questions about security measures but also triggered discussions about the overall management and conditions within jails across Louisiana.
