A maintenance worker has been arrested in connection with a dramatic jailbreak involving ten inmates from the Orleans Parish Jail in New Orleans, Louisiana. The escape, which occurred in the early hours of 16 May, involved dismantling a toilet and exploiting structural weaknesses in the facility.
The suspect, 33-year-old Sterling Williams, was taken into custody on Monday night, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced. Williams is accused of deliberately turning off the water supply to the jail cell used in the escape—a move that allowed the inmates to remove the toilet from the wall and access the infrastructure behind it.
According to investigators, several of the escapees were facing serious charges, including murder and other violent crimes. While three inmates were recaptured on the day of the escape and a fourth was apprehended on Monday, six others remain at large.
“Instead of reporting the inmate, Williams turned the water off as directed, allowing the inmates to carry out their scheme to successfully escape,” Attorney General Murrill said in a statement. She added that Williams had admitted to cooperating with one of the inmates who instructed him to cut the water supply.
Williams now faces ten counts of being a principal to simple escape and an additional charge of malfeasance in office. He has not made any public comment regarding the allegations.
The investigation remains ongoing, and Murrill urged anyone with information—especially those who may have assisted in the escape—to come forward voluntarily. “Anyone who aided and abetted will be prosecuted to the full extent the law allows,” she said.
The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office released details and images from the escape route. According to Sheriff Susan Hutson, the inmates first dislodged the sliding cell door at approximately 12:23 a.m. local time. They then ripped the toilet off the wall, exposing a hole with plumbing and metal bars behind it. The group reportedly cut through the bars and fled by climbing down a wall and sprinting across a nearby highway.
Photographs released by the sheriff’s office show cleanly cut bars and graffiti left by the escapees, including the taunting phrase “To Easy LoL” with an arrow pointing to the hole, and a smiley face with its tongue sticking out. Another smudged message appeared to challenge officers to “catch us when you can.”
The Orleans Parish Jail is located roughly 3km (2 miles) from New Orleans’ historic French Quarter. The high-profile escape has prompted renewed scrutiny of security protocols at the facility.
Melissa Enoch
Follow us on:
