Jail maintenance worker accused of helping New Orleans inmates escape, sources say
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE/Gray News) - An Orleans Parish jail maintenance worker was arrested on Monday on allegations that he helped facilitate the escape of 10 inmates from the Orleans Justice Center last Friday, law enforcement sources confirmed to WVUE.
Sterling Williams, 33, was booked on 10 counts of principal to simple escape and one count of malfeasance in office.
Sources say Williams is a maintenance worker who helped turn off the water to the cell where the inmates escaped.
The inmates escaped from the jail by slipping through a hole behind a toilet and scaling a wall.
Six of them remained on the run Monday, and up to $20,000 in rewards was being offered for information leading to the capture of each escapee.
FBI Special Agent Jonathan Trapp said during a news conference that he believes of the public may be helping them and, if that’s the case, would be arrested on charges of aiding or abetting.
The men range in age from 19 to 42 and face a variety of charges including aggravated assault, domestic abuse battery and murder.
While three of the men were quickly caught and a fourth later, a multiagency task force has been assembled to scour the region for the remaining fugitives.
The six remaining fugitives are still considered armed and dangerous. Among them:
- Derrick Groves, convicted of killing two people and shooting two others on Mardi Gras Day in 2018.
- Antoine Massey, held on domestic abuse and vehicle theft charges, with prior escapes dating back to 2007. Also wanted in St. Tammany Parish for kidnapping and rape.
- Lenton Vanburen, accused of a 2021 homicide in New Orleans East.
- Jermaine Donald, charged with attempted second-degree murder, aggravated battery, weapons violations, and obstruction of justice.
- Leo Tate, awaiting trial on burglary, drug, and weapons charges.
- Corey Boyd, accused of killing Brandon Fees during a car burglary in 2024.
Tuesday morning, the New Orleans City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee will convene a meeting with representatives from the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, New Orleans Police Department, Louisiana State Police, Troop NOLA, Homeland Security, and the city’s Communications District. The goal: determine what went wrong and who’s responsible.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said the men were able to get out of the Orleans Justice Center because of “defective locks” and possibly with help from people inside her department.
“It’s almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help,” she said Friday of the jail where 1,400 people are being held.
Three sheriff’s employees have been placed on suspension pending the outcome of an investigation.
Hutson said the facility is around 60% staffed, so the staff is “stretched thin.”
Copyright 2025 WVUE via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
