Authorities have announced that three more of the ten inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail earlier this month were re-arrested on Monday. These captures occurred in two different states after the inmates spent more than a week on the run. One of the recaptured men was taken into custody in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while two others were apprehended in Walker County, Texas, as reported by the Louisiana State Police on the social media platform X. As of now, two additional inmates remain at large.
The daring escape took place on May 16, when the inmates executed an audacious jailbreak. They managed to yank open a faulty cell door, squeeze through a hole behind a toilet, and scale a barbed-wire fence before fleeing into the cover of darkness. Authorities only discovered their absence during a morning headcount, hours after the inmates had bolted for freedom. The escapees left behind graffiti on the wall that read “To Easy LoL,” complete with an arrow pointing towards the gap they used to escape.
City and state officials have identified multiple security lapses within the jail that contributed to this escape. The latest inmates to be recaptured have been identified as Lenton Vanburen, Leo Tate, and Jermaine Donald. Earlier, authorities had already taken into custody Dkenan Dennis, Corey Boyd, Gary C. Price, Kendell Myles, and Robert Moody. Many of these individuals were awaiting sentencing or trial for serious offenses, including violent crimes such as murder.
In a related development, a jail maintenance worker has been arrested for allegedly aiding the escape by turning off the water supply to the toilet. This act was said to have facilitated the inmates' escape. The worker claimed he had been threatened by one of the inmates if he refused to comply with their demands.
Authorities continue to scour the New Orleans area in search of the remaining escapees. The situation emphasizes the ongoing concerns regarding jail security and the measures necessary to prevent such incidents in the future.
