New Orleans — Authorities have successfully re-arrested three more of the ten inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail earlier this month. The arrests occurred on Monday in two different states after the fugitives were on the run for more than a week. One of the escapees was apprehended by local police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while two others were detained in Walker County, Texas, as reported by the Louisiana State Police on the social media platform X. Currently, two inmates remain at large.
Authorities have been actively searching the New Orleans area for the escapees since their audacious jailbreak on May 16. The inmates executed a daring escape by yanking open a faulty cell door, squeezing through a hole behind a toilet, and scaling a barbed-wire fence under the cover of darkness. The escape went unnoticed until a morning headcount, hours after they fled. Graffiti left on the jail wall featured the message "To Easy LoL," complete with an arrow pointing to the gap they used to exit.
City and state officials have pointed to multiple security lapses within the jail that contributed to this incident. The latest inmates who were recaptured have been identified as Lenton Vanburen, Leo Tate, and Jermaine Donald. Previously, five other escapees—Dkenan Dennis, Corey Boyd, Gary C. Price, Kendell Myles, and Robert Moody—were taken back into custody.
Many of the escapees were awaiting sentences or trials for alleged violent crimes, including murder, when they managed to break free. In the aftermath of the jailbreak, a jail maintenance worker was arrested for allegedly turning off the water to the toilet, an action that facilitated the inmates' escape. This worker claimed that he had been threatened by one of the inmates if he refused to comply with the demands.
The investigation continues as authorities work to locate the remaining escapees. The New Orleans jailbreak serves as a stark reminder of the critical need for improved security measures in correctional facilities to prevent such incidents in the future. As law enforcement agencies collaborate, the hope remains that the last two inmates will be re-arrested swiftly.
