Crime Stoppers New Orleans and the FBI on Thursday announced that they have both upped their rewards for the apprehension of the two remaining escapees from the May 16 jailbreak from the Orleans Justice Center as the men approach three weeks on the run.
The bounty for Derrick Groves and Antoine Massey is now $20,000 from the FBI, and $20,000 from Crime Stoppers.
The ATF is also offering a $10,000 reward for the arrest of each fugitive, bringing the total potential earnings for assisting in their captures up to $50,000 each.
After announcing that the reward had been upped, the president and CEO of Crime Stoppers Greater New Orleans, Darlene Cusanza, emphasized Crime Stoppers’ anonymity policy, and pleaded for the public’s help.
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“Now, with Crime Stoppers, we are combined with the ATF making the reward significantly higher, and you are eligible for the Crime Stoppers reward by contacting us directly,” she said. “With Crime Stoppers, you’re going to remain anonymous. It’s our standard protocols, and we truly hope that with this increased amount, if you have personal knowledge of the whereabouts of these individuals that can help law enforcement make that arrest, to contact us.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge of New Orleans Jonathan Tapp spoke briefly later in the news conference to announce that the agency’s reward increased.
“Today marks day 13 in our search for escapees Derrick Groves and Antoine Massey, and we want you to know that we will find them,” he said, noting that the federal law enforcement agency is using every resource at its disposal to apprehend the pair.
He also emphasized the FBI’s anonymity policy.
“With our partners, we want you to know the FBI handles every lead with discretion, and we do our utmost to preserve anonymity,” he said. “But sometimes this is difficult. We understand with our law enforcement partners that some of you might be reporting a friend, a loved one, a relative, and albeit not easy, it is critical to your safety and the safety of the public that you report that.”
Representatives from the Louisiana State Police, the ATF, U.S. Marshals and the New Orleans Police Department were also present at the news conference.
Groves pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in unrelated cases thereafter, and was scheduled to be sentenced in July.
Massey, a known escape artist, also remains on the run. He was in jail and awaiting trial on charges of domestic abuse involving strangulation, theft of a motor vehicle and a parole violation.
Before busting out of the jail, he had escaped custody three times. He was no longer eligible to be released from jail with an ankle monitor due to his habit of cutting them off, only for police to have to track him down.
The law enforcement agencies involved in the hunt, including the Louisiana State Police, the FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals and the New Orleans Police Department, are scheduled to hold a joint press conference on Thursday to address the status of the escapees.
Cameron Lindsay, a former federal prison warden, was befuddled that Massey was locked in a first-floor cell of the facility, saying that his past warranted far more attention from corrections staff.
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“He would be housed in the most secure location within the jail,” Lindsay told Fox News Digital. “All staff would be apprised of this individual, and given his incredibly high risk for escape, I would require documented frequent checks at least once every 30 minutes on an irregular schedule.”
“I would also insist on documented correctional supervisor rounds, ensuring line staff are strictly following guidelines for inmates of this caliber who present the greatest threat to the community,” he said.
The other eight prisoners who escaped from their cell and hopped the barbed wire fence to freedom have all been recaptured.
So far, 14 people have also been arrested for allegedly aiding the fugitives either before or after the escape.
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