In a fiery Tuesday meeting, the New Orleans City Council grilled the city’s top law enforcement officials over Friday’s 10-man jailbreak that has sent shock waves across the nation. 

During the first portion of the meeting, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick was questioned by the council, headed by President Jean-Paul Morrell. 

The first bombshell came when Morrell asked Kirkpatrick when the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) became aware of the escape. 

Kirkpatrick told him she was notified by a police captain at around 10:30 a.m., and only verified the captain’s claim by looking at media reports about the escape. 

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Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson was later questioned, and took responsibility for the escape as she addressed the council in an opening statement, calling it “unacceptable.” 

“As your sheriff, I take full accountability for this failure, and it is my responsibility to make sure it is addressed with urgency and transparency,” she said. 

“While our internal investigation continues, and while we must respect the boundaries of an active criminal investigation, I can tell you this: there were procedural failures and missed notifications,” said Hutson. “But I can also tell you this: there were intentional wrongdoings. This was a coordinated effort, aided by individuals inside our own agency, who made the choice to break the law.”

However, she shifted some of the blame to the county and city of New Orleans, saying that the department hasn’t been given adequate resources to run the jail despite what she said were multiple attempts to obtain those resources. 

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Sheriff Susan Hutson speaks to the New Orleans City Council after the 10-person jail escape on May 15.

After her opening statement came a volley of questions about the timeline of events on Friday morning at the jail. 

On Hutson’s right sat Chief of Corrections Jay Mallett. Mallett and Hutson tag-teamed the answers to the council’s questions. 

The first question: what was the timeline of the escape? 

Mallett immediately obfuscated, saying he could not reveal certain details given the ongoing investigation, much to the chagrin of Morrell. 

“So [the] timeline being one of the most critical parts of what we’ve heard from, and you’re saying you can’t share those things, that they’ll jeopardize the investigation?” he asked Mallett. 

He said that at 8:44 a.m., the initial count of inmates from earlier in the morning “didn’t clear,” and was found to be incorrect. 

He disclosed to Council member Helena Moreno that the count begins routinely at around 6:45 a.m. and ends at about 7:45 a.m., leaving a gap of 46 minutes unaccounted for. 

Chief of Corrections Jay Mallett speaks to the New Orleans City Council about the mass jail escape.

By 8:57 a.m., he said, a lockdown had been initiated, and it was determined that two inmates were missing. 

However, a full search of the jail by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office for missing inmates didn’t happen until 9:30 a.m., and the U.S. Marshals Service was not notified until after that was completed. 

When Moreno pressed, Mallett couldn’t tell the council when exactly it realized that 10 inmates were missing. 

Morrell asked Mallett when NOPD was notified, and Mallett could not tell him, saying there were “missed” steps in the reporting chain. 

“The delay between when your count happened and when the public notification came out is anywhere from two to three hours,” Morrell said. “That’s a tremendous amount of time that expands the radius of where these people can go and where they could be. There’s a substantial breach of public trust when you look at the timeline.”

Hutson eventually jumped in and explained that during the frenzy over the potential escape, corrections officers had to account for 1,400 inmates and view more than 90 security cameras. This measure, she said, was taken to be certain that they told outside authorities exactly which inmates were missing in order to ensure authorities weren’t searching for people who were still in lockup. 

“You also can’t give out false information about who’s missing,” she said.”[If] one person was found elsewhere in the facility, but now law enforcement was looking for them, that would waste resources.” 

Maintenance worker arrested for allegedly aiding escapees, says he was threatened

The Orleans Parish Jail maintenance worker arrested in connection with the escape reportedly said he was threatened with violence by the escapees before helping them get loose. 

Sterling Williams, 33, an employee of the sheriff’s office, has been charged with 10 counts of principal to simple escape and malfeasance in office, according to a Tuesday morning statement from Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office. 

Murrill said Williams turned the water off in the cell the inmates escaped from, and that instead of reporting the inmates, he helped them. 

Williams told police that the escapees threatened to “shank” him if he didn’t aid them in their breakout and turn the water off, an arrest affidavit stated.

“By turning off the water to cell 6 bottom in the 1D dorm, Williams willfully and maliciously assisted with the escape of the 10 inmates. With the water being turned off, the inmates were able to successfully make good on their escapes. Williams admitted to agents he committed the acts after he was directed to do so by one of the inmates who escaped, Antoine Massey,” the affidavit stated.

According to the affidavit, Williams was seen on a video surveillance camera talking with two of the inmates who escaped. Williams told police that one of the inmates, Derrick Groves, tried to take his phone and get him to “bring a book with cash app information to his cousin in the next pod over.”

Click here to read the affidavit.

He also told police that one of the escaped inmates tried to take his phone and “get him to bring a book with cash app information,” according to the affidavit.

Murrill said Williams’ total bond was set at $1.1 million, $100,000 for each charge he’s facing.

“If you are helping any of the escaped inmates in any way, you too will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law!” Murrill said.

The sheriff’s office did not immediately return a comment request. 

Sterling Williams is accused of helping 10 inmates escape from the Orleans Parish Jail. (Louisiana Department of Justice)

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The release said he was booked into the same jail where he allegedly helped the inmates escape, but that he will be transferred to a different facility.

“This is a continuing investigation, and we will provide updates as often as possible. We will uncover all the facts eventually and anyone who aided and abetted will be prosecuted to the full extent the law allows. I encourage anyone who knows anything, and even those who may have provided assistance, to come forward now to obtain the best possible outcome in their particular case,” said Murrill.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is calling for a full investigation of the incident. (Louisiana Attorney General’s Office)

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Ten inmates escaped from the prison early Friday morning, and six remain on the run as of midday Tuesday. 

The most recent arrest came on Monday night. 

Gary C. Price, 21, who was in jail awaiting trial on multiple counts of attempted murder, was captured by the Louisiana State Police (LSP). 

LSP said Tuesday morning that Price was arrested in New Orleans East by their detectives and a SWAT team. He was flown by helicopter back to jail. 

New Orleans jail escapee Gary Price is escorted to a helicopter by police officers who captured him. (Louisiana State Police)

However, the escapee considered most dangerous is Derrick Groves, 27, who remains at large. 

He was convicted of killing two men on Mardi Gras in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward in 2018, and was in jail awaiting sentencing. 

According to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Groves was indicted federally on nine counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, eight counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, six counts of obstruction of justice and two counts of drug trafficking conspiracy.

Gary Price was escorted to a helicopter by the Louisiana State Police and returned to jail after more than 72 hours on the run. (Louisiana State Police)

Orleans Parish district attorney says he and his prosecutors fear retribution from escapees 

On Monday, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said he and his prosecutors feared retribution from Groves and the other escapees. He said that as soon as he learned of the escape, he notified prosecutors who had tried cases against the suspects and coordinated with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) to get them out of town.

“I am personally afraid, not just for myself but for my lawyers who tried the case against the individual twice,” Williams said, referring to Groves, during a news conference. 

Williams reportedly tried Groves twice, and the convicted killer was tried a total of three times in New Orleans. 

Orleans Parish DA Jason Williams and Orleans Parish Jail. (AP/Orleans Parish District Attorney)

He was first convicted and given two life sentences for killing two people on Mardi Gras in New Orleans in 2018. One of the convictions was overturned, leading to a second trial that ended in a mistrial. A third trial saw Groves convicted unanimously. 

“We were asking for a life sentence of this man, and he is now at large,” Williams said. “Two of the lawyers who I tried that case with, who successfully went forward and [were] able to get a conviction in that case, these lawyers got out of town this weekend with their families out of fear of retribution.”

The fifth of 10 inmate escapees who fled a New Orleans jail has been recaptured, authorities said Tuesday. 

Corey Boyd, who was briefly spotted last Friday hours after the jailbreak, was taken into custody, the Louisiana State Police said. 

Boyd, 19, was captured in New Orleans. He is accused of killing Brandon Fees during a car burglary in 2024.

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“Boyd will ultimately be transported to a secure state facility outside of the area and booked for Simple Escape,” the state police said in a Facebook post. 

Boyd was originally jailed for second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, aggravated battery and threatening a public official. 

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From top left: Dkenan Dennis, Gary C. Price, Robert Moody, Kendell Myles and Corey E. Boyd; from bottom left: Lenton Vanburen Jr., Jermaine Donald, Antonine T. Massey, Derrick D. Groves and Leo Tate Sr. (Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office via AP)

The 10 inmates escaped the Orleans Parish Correctional Facility on Friday night, which was recorded on the jail’s surveillance footage. Authorities said they crawled through a hole hidden behind a toilet, scaled and then hopped the jail’s barbed wire fence and then ran across the highway into a neighborhood before changing clothes. 

Five other inmates are still at large:

• Lenton J. Vanburen Jr., 26, faces charges of illegal carrying of weapons, possession of a firearm or weapon by a felon, obstruction of justice and introducing contraband in prison.
• Jermaine Donald, 42, faces charges of second-degree murder, aggravated battery, possession of a firearm or weapon by a felon and obstruction of justice.
• Antoine Massey, 32, faces charges of domestic abuse involving strangulation, theft of a motor vehicle and a parole violation.
• Derrick Groves, 27, faces three counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and battery of a correctional facility employee.
• Leo O. Tate Sr., 31, faces charges of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, possession of a firearm or weapon by a felon, illegal carrying of a weapon, motor vehicle theft and multiple drug counts.

Sterling Williams (Louisiana Department of Justice)

Sterling Williams, 33, a maintenance worker at the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, was arrested Tuesday and charged with 10 counts of principal to simple escape and malfeasance in office, according to Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office.

Williams said an inmate threatened to shank him if he refused to help with the coordinated escape. 

Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca and Stephanie Price contributed to this report. 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The father of a North Carolina college student who was shot in a “random” burglary earlier this month while she was staying with University of South Carolina students for the weekend was “furious” when he learned of the suspect’s lengthy criminal history.

Logan Federico, a 22-year-old aspiring teacher from Waxhaw, was visiting friends at USC in Columbia, South Carolina, and staying at a house on Cypress Street on the evening of May 2 through May 3.

In the early morning hours of May 3, suspect Alexander Dickey, a 30-year-old “career criminal,” entered the home in the early morning, stole several credit and debit cards and fatally shot Logan in what Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook described as a “random” crime during a May 5 press conference.

“She was supposed to go down the night before, and plans got canceled … so she decided to do it on a Friday,” Logan’s father, Stephen Federico, told Fox News Digital. “That’s the thing that’s just gut-wrenching. She wasn’t even supposed to be there. She was supposed to be home Friday.”

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On Saturday afternoon, Logan’s mother, Melissa Federico, was at home cooking when two officers showed up at her door to tell her the news that Logan had been shot dead in Columbia. Stephen had been golfing with friends when his wife called.

“Then, I heard … the screams from my wife on the phone and … she didn’t want to tell me that, and I had to kind of pull it out of her,” Stephen recalled. “And she finally said Logan’s gone, and I said, ‘What do you mean gone?’ She said dead. And that moment, I had no reaction. I was in shock.”

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Stephen Federico looks at a photo of his daughter, Logan Federico, on his phone. (Adam Eugene Willis for Fox News Digital)

He described his feelings upon learning that Logan had been shot as “a kick in the stomach” and “a panic.”

When he learned through local news that Dickey was a career criminal with nearly 40 prior arrests across different North Carolina counties, he felt “furious.”

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Alexander Dickey, 30, has 40 criminal and traffic charges dating back to 2013. (Lexington SC Detention Center)

“That was shocking. Absolutely shocking,” he said. “I got a name, but obviously, I didn’t get a lot of information. They were still investigating the whole background. They told me he was a career criminal. We referred him to something else. It is what it is — that’s the way I feel. But yeah, it was a shock that he was actually out on the streets.”

Logan had been studying at Central Piedmont Community College and working two jobs at the time of her death. She had aspirations to attend a four-year college and become a teacher after she developed a love of kids while babysitting her neighbors over the summer.

Logan Federico had dreams of becoming a teacher. (handout)

Federico described her personality as “electric … outgoing, personable, infectious.”

“Huge heart,” he said. “Somebody that cared intensely about people that would go out of her way to make somebody feel included and find the people that felt excluded and make sure she pulled them in.”

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Federico described his daughter Logan’s personality as “electric … outgoing, personable, infectious.” (Adam Eugene Willis for Fox News Digital)

In the early morning hours of May 3, Dickey drove a stolen vehicle into the neighborhood and parked the car on Cypress Street, seemingly at random, according to Columbia police. He allegedly broke into one home and stole the keys to another vehicle and a firearm. He then broke into the home where Federico was staying, police said.

There, Dickey allegedly stole several credit cards, saw Federico sleeping in one of the rooms in the house and fatally shot her with the stolen firearm.

Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook described the crime as “random” and the suspect, 30-year-old Alexander Dickey, as a “career criminal” during a Monday press conference. (Columbia PD)

Authorities responded to the residence around 11 a.m., when Federico was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound. Columbia police described Logan as “a true victim and not an intended target.”

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The next day, Dickey went on a “shopping spree” using the stolen credit cards in West Columbia, and the stolen vehicle he was using broke down in Saluda County, police said. He allegedly called a tow truck to have the stolen vehicle transported to a residence in Gaston.

Logan Federico, a 22-year-old aspiring nurse, was fatally shot during a Columbia home break-in on the morning of May 3. (Columbia PD)

Authorities began tracking Dickey as a person of interest and responded to the residence in Gaston on May 3. He allegedly fled the home when they arrived, and officials spent the remainder of Saturday searching for him.

Around 4 p.m. on May 4, a Gaston resident reported seeing a man, later identified as Dickey, emerge from the woods and steal a car. He wrecked the stolen car and fled on foot to the initial Gaston residence law enforcement had responded to the day before and forced his way inside the home.

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Columbia police described Logan as “a true victim and not an intended target.” (handout)

Authorities surrounded the residence and ordered him to emerge, at which point Dickey allegedly tried to set fire to the home. Lexington County Sheriff’s Office deputies detained him at the residence.

“We’re gonna get this guy. I’ll see to it.”

— Stephen Federico

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Federico said his daughter’s murder robbed the world of a kind person who loved to help others — and robbed the children who would have been Logan’s future students of a great teacher.

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Last week, Dickey appeared in court for a bond hearing. Federico and other family members attended the hearing. He said it was important to him to show up for Logan, and he will continue to do so until his daughter gets justice.

Stephen Federico said he plans on attending all of Alexander Dickey’s court hearings. (Adam Eugene Willis for Fox News Digital)

The grieving father also thanked Columbia police for their quick work in tracking down and arresting Dickey, calling two officers in particular his “friends.”

“These officers down there, wow. Superheros.”

— Stephen Federico

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“They’re now my friends. All of them are,” he said. “Just special people. Really special people. They found their calling.”

Dickey is charged with murder, two counts of first-degree burglary, two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, two counts of grand larceny, grand larceny of a motor vehicle, three counts of financial transaction card theft.

He was given a probation sentence for a burglary charge in 2023, which was reduced for compliance. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 25. He faces life in prison for the charges filed against him in Lexington County.

Dickey’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.