The intensive manhunt following the escape from the New Orleans jail earlier this month led to three more inmates being taken into custody on Monday, leaving two others still at
www.nola.com
The intensive manhunt following the escape from the New Orleans jail earlier this month led to three more inmates being taken into custody on Monday, leaving two others still at large from the historic breakout.
Lenton Vanburen Jr. 26, was arrested in Baton Rouge while Leo Tate Sr., 31, and Jermaine Donald, 42, were apprehended by the Texas Department of Public Safety in Walker County, Texas, north of Houston, police said. Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill lauded the captures.
Monday's arrests leave Derrick Groves and Antoine Massey, among those considered ringleaders in the brazen May 16 jailbreak of 10 men, at large.
Baton Rouge police confirmed Vanburen's capture, saying he was arrested following an anonymous tip.
"Vanburen was apprehended while sitting on a bench near a department store located at 9636 Hammond Aire," BRPD said in a statement.
State police confirmed the two captures in Texas.
The jailbreak has prompted an interstate manhunt and state-led investigations into the New Orleans lockup's operations, as well as the local criminal justice system. Sheriff Susan Hutson, who runs the jail, has suspended her reelection campaign just months ahead of the vote.
Vanburen was charged with second-degree murder in connection with a November 2021 fatal shooting in New Orleans East. He pleaded not guilty in April 2022. He had asked the court to represent himself and a mental competency hearing was scheduled for May 29, court records show.
Tate was initially jailed on charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder in connection with a 7th Ward double shooting in 2018, which killed 19-year-old Alexis Banks and hospitalized a teen.
He accepted a plea deal in September 2021, in which the murder-related charges were dismissed, and he was convicted of obstruction of justice and sentenced to 10 years behind bars, according to jail records.
Donald has a long criminal history but was most recently charged in December 2023 with second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, court records show. He pleaded not guilty in April 2024.
The men were among 10 who broke free from the jail at about 1 a.m. on May 16 after busting through a cell door and sliding through a hole in a wall behind a toilet as a guard took a meal break. Jail staff didn't discover the escape until 8:30 a.m. Authorities suspect they received help from jail staff members, including a plumber, Sterling Williams, who has been arrested.
The two inmates still on the run are Antoine Massey and Derrick Groves. The others previously captured include Corey Boyd, Kendell Myles, Robert Moody, Dkenan Dennis and Gary Price. They are being held without bail at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.
Three women accused of helping Vanburen escape were also arrested over the weekend. Two were accused of driving Vanburen from Louisiana to a family member's house in Mississippi, according to court documents.
At least nine others have been booked on suspicion of aiding the escapees.
The escape has led to harsh criticism of Hutson. Landry has been among those lashing out over management of the jail.
Hutson has defended her management in part by highlighting what she says are longstanding funding issues and the facility being improperly used to house long-term prisoners.
Video of the escapees darting from the jail spread widely online and among national news media.