The Orleans Parish district attorney torched the county’s sheriff for failing to order a crime scene investigation after 10 inmates escaped from the New Orleans prison on Friday.
District Attorney Jason Williams said in a Thursday afternoon press conference that he learned from New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick that Sheriff Susan Hutson never requested a formal crime scene investigation from the jail cell the 10 inmates used to escape.
“Time is also of the essence when trying to get good DNA samples or collect fingerprints to make sure those areas are not molested or destroyed in any way,” he told the media. “So I am deeply concerned that there was not an immediate request by the sheriff to our local crime lab to get in there and examine, document, preserve and collect all of the forensic evidence that was available there so that we could already have it tested.”
He has also demanded that the sheriff’s office preserve and turn over all surveillance footage from the jail from April 1 until Wednesday, as well as any other pertinent investigatory materials.
It has been nearly a week since 10 inmates, some wanted for violent crimes like murder, brazenly escaped from their cell and over the jail’s fence into the New Orleans community. They taunted authorities on the way out with written messages on the cell wall, including one that read, “To easy LOL.”
Five of those inmates, including Derrick Groves, who is a convicted killer of four people, are still on the loose.
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Williams even suggested that members of the sheriff’s department could be under investigation in the escape.
“We’ve also asked, we’ve sent letters out to the sheriff asking that she and all members of the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and any maintenance workers or crew members submit to voluntary samples of DNA, and provide fingerprints so that they can be included or excluded from this investigation,” he said.
He also said that if the sheriff’s office, which runs the jail, had followed protocol, it is likely that all 10 fugitives would have been captured by now.
“Time is of the essence in terms of catching escaped fugitives,” Williams said. “If they escape at 12:30 [a.m.], immediately upon awareness of that, we need to make sure that the public is notified, the media is notified, because if that had happened, in all likelihood, all 10 of these individuals would be in custody by now.”
Since a proper inquiry was never made, members of the NOPD crime lab and Williams himself on Thursday scoured the jail cell, the hole behind the removed toilet and the corridor through which the inmates escaped, in an attempt to collect evidence.
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He described his Thursday visit to the crime scene as “very unusual.”
“But we have to make sure that we are focusing on this crime scene, the destruction of those bars, of that toilet, who could have assisted these individuals in getting out, whether they were in a uniform or not in a uniform,” said Williams. “And obviously fingerprints, DNA, these pieces of evidence tell a story. And that’s the type of evidence that a jury is going to be looking for when it’s time to hold somebody accountable. And we need to make sure we’re holding the right people accountable.”
Hutson earlier this week suspended her campaign for re-election as sheriff, saying her priority was to focus solely on catching the fugitives.
One person from inside the jail has already been charged with aiding the inmates in the escape.
Sterling Williams, 33, who was an employee of the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, has been arrested and charged with 10 counts of principal to simple escape and one count of malfeasance in office for allegedly turning off the water in the cell from which the escapees fled. He is being held on $1.1 million bond, $100,000 per count, in the Plaquemines Parish Jail.
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On Wednesday, the Louisiana State Police (LSP) announced that two more people were arrested for aiding the inmates after they escaped.
Cortnie Harris, 32, of New Orleans and 38-year-old Corvanntay Baptiste of Slidell were arrested for assisting the fugitives. They are also being held at the Plaquemines County Jail.
On Thursday afternoon, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced on X that Harris’ bond was set at $2.5 million and Baptiste’s at $1 million.
“You will be arrested and prosecuted if you assist these escapees in any way,” she warned in the post.
Sources close to the investigation told Fox News that Baptiste was Corey Boyd‘s girlfriend. She allegedly did not cooperate with the police and said she did not participate in the escape. Boyd was captured by LSP on Tuesday night.
Harris, who is Leo Tate’s girlfriend, allegedly admitted to her role in aiding the escapees, and gave a confession, according to the sources. Tate is still on the run.
Boyd, 19, who was facing charges of second-degree murder before the escape, was the latest inmate captured. He was taken into custody on Tuesday night.
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