A maintenance worker at the New Orleans jail where 10 inmates escaped last week has been arrested for helping them break out of the facility. Six of the escapees remain at large after their daring jailbreak at about 1 a.m. on Friday.
Sterling Williams, 33, faces 10 charges of assisting escape and one of malfeasance in office. According to the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, Williams admitted to authorities that he turned off the water in the cell that the inmates escaped from through a hole behind a toilet.
“This is a continuing investigation, and we will provide updates as often as possible. We will uncover all the facts eventually and anyone who aided and abetted will be prosecuted to the full extent the law allows,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement. “I encourage anyone who knows anything and even those who may have provided assistance to come forward now to obtain the best possible outcome in their particular case.”
Williams was booked at the same jail where the escape took place but transferred to another facility.
It’s unclear whether more employees will face charges. Three were put on administrative leave as state authorities investigated the circumstances of the jailbreak.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) ordered the state attorney general to launch an investigation, as local officials acknowledged over the weekend that there were indications that the inmates had received help “from individuals inside of our department.”
“The public deserves to know who, what and how this happened,” the governor said Sunday.
Six inmates remain at large, and a massive manhunt spanning local, state and federal authorities continues after Louisiana State Police located a fourth escapee, Gary Price, Monday night.
The six men still on the lam have been identified as: Corey Boyd, Jermaine Donald, Derrick Groves, Antoine Massey, Leo Tate and Lenton Vanburen.
Multiple agencies have offered rewards, hoping tipsters will help them capture the seven missing inmates. The total bounty now stands at up to $20,000 for information leading to the apprehension of any of the escapees.
