Louisiana
Three more inmates who escaped from New Orleans' main jail are captured
Three inmates accused of escaping from New Orleans’ main lockup in one of Louisiana’s biggest jailbreaks ever have been apprehended, leaving two at large, officials said Monday.
Jermaine Donald, 42, who was jailed on charges of second-degree murder and other crimes before he escaped, was taken into custody in Texas with another inmate accused of fleeing the Orleans Justice Center on May 16, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement.
That inmate, Leo Tate, 31, had been in custody on burglary and firearms charges, Murrill said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety arrested the two men in Walker County, north of Houston, the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Separately, Lenton Vanburen, 26, who was jailed on firearms and parole violation charges, was taken into custody in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the city’s police department said in a statement.
The three inmates will face additional charges, Murrill said in a statement. It was not immediately clear whether they have lawyers to speak on their behalf.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Fair attributed the capture of Donald and Tate to a dayslong, multi-agency effort that tracked the pair to the Houston metro area. He said the U.S. Marshals Office for the Southern District of Texas responded after being forwarded a “collateral lead.”
The suspects were taken into custody during a traffic stop, he said.
Fair described the remaining two inmates who have not been captured as “extremely dangerous” and said they could be anywhere.
“Both of them and other of the people on the run have had a support network in the New Orleans area, but they could be outside of the New Orleans area,” he said. “It’s going to take a lot more work to figure out where they are exactly.”
One of the men, Derrick Groves, was convicted of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder last October.
Several people, including a jail maintenance worker, have been accused of assisting in the escape.
Sterling Williams, who was charged with principle to simple escape and malfeasance in office, cut off the water to a cell’s toilet so inmates could remove it without flooding the area, Murrill alleged in a news release last week.
According to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant, Williams told authorities that one of the inmates who escaped threatened to “shank” him if he did not help.
That inmate, identified in the document as Antoine Massey, has not been apprehended.
Williams’ lawyer disputed the affidavit, saying his client was unaware of the inmates’ escape plan. Williams turned off the water, the attorney told the Associated Press, to help fix a clogged toilet.
After the men removed the toilet, the affidavit alleges, the inmates sawed through steel bars and escaped through a hole in the wall before they scaled a barbed-wire fence using blankets.
A photo released by authorities showed the phrases “To Easy Lol” and “We Innocent” written above the toilet.
A state lawmaker whose district includes Iberville and nine other parishes will lead the way on the drawing of a new congressional map when the committee convenes Friday.
Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen, will chair the hearings to draw a new congressional district map. He currently serves as chairman of the U.S. Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.
On Wednesday, Kleinpeter said he has not worked on any maps. He is letting the committee members and the members of the Senate work on this with staff.
The move will come nine days after the U.S. Supreme Court on a 6-3 vote ruled one of Louisiana’s two majority-Black U.S. House districts unconstitutional.
“We can’t base it on race anymore, so the minority party is the Democrats,” he said. “The Democrats have migrated away from the New Orléans area, so we’re looking at Democrats versus Republicans, so the minority party — the Democrats — which means it’s more favored toward Baton Rouge.”
The move would work in favor of incumbent 6th District Congressman Cleo Fields, who was a candidate for the race which Gov. Jeff Lndry suspended in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.
The ruling stemmed from Louisiana vs. Callais – a consolidation of Robinson vs. Callais – that centered on racial gerrymandering and redistricting in the state of Louisiana following the 2020 United States census. The lead plaintiff, Phillip “Bert” Callais, is a resident of Brusly.
The Supreme Court vote came despite the African American population comprising nearly one-third of the state’s population.
According to the 2020 Census, the Black or African American population in Louisiana was approximately 1,464,023,representing 31.4%of the state’s total population. Louisiana has one of the highest percentages of Black residents in the United States, ranking second behind Mississippi.
The Baton Rouge district would likely be the area to undergo the remap, he said.
It amounts to an intricate balancing act.
“What far-right Republicans don’t understand is that with Congress maps, you have to be within 776, 280 votes – within 50 votes of the other districts,” Kleinpeter said. “It’s not like our legislative maps where you can be off by thousands … when you start changing a precinct, it can run down a rabbit hole chasing this precinct over here and over there.
“We can easily draw a really strong nine Republican and one strong Democrat, so if you start watering districts down you could wind up with a 4-2 map.”
Republicans currently have a two-vote super majority vote.
“But some Republican districts are strong and others are weak,” Kleinpeter said. “If you take 58 percent Democrats and put them in Republican districts, you could end up losing Republicans.
“Drawing congress maps is very difficult – you have the leader of the party, and you have the Speaker of the House you have to protect,” he said. “You don’t want to jeopardize their maps at hole.”
One other issue is looming for the state, Kleinpeter said.
“What people don’t understand is that we will have to do this all over again in five years, after the next census comes out,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll people by that time.”
The 2030 Census will play a key role in the process, but it still requires participation.
“I had plenty of next-door neighbors who didn’t want to fill out their census” he said. “I’m going to push to fill out their census. We miss out on federal money and potentially risk losing a seat. “
Neuty, the iconic Bucktown nutria visits the state capitol, with Myra Lacoste, Denny Lacoste, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, Dennis Lacoste Sr., and Louisiana state Senator J. Cameron Henry Jr. Neuty was an orphan, rescued by the Lacostes. In March 2023, LDWF agents attempted to confiscate the illegal pet.
VIDALIA, La. — Louisiana State Police arrested 18-year-old Gregory Steele early Sunday morning on two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of underage operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, one count vehicular negligent injuring and one count careless operation, according to Concordia Parish Jail records.
Steele, 18, a white male, was arrested in connection with an accident that occurred at approximately 1:54 a.m. on Sunday morning on Minorca Road in Vidalia. Two passengers in the vehicle were killed. Steele and another passenger were able to escape the vehicle.
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