A maintenance worker at the Orleans Parish Justice Center in New Orleans has been arrested for allegedly helping 10 inmates escape through a hole behind a toilet, officials confirmed Tuesday.
Sterling Williams, who worked in facility maintenance, was taken into custody and booked Tuesday morning.
In a recent development, Tribune Online reported that Ten men, on Friday, escaped from a New Orleans jail after passing through a wall behind a toilet, but authorities believe the inmates may have had help from inside the facility.
Sources have said that Williams allegedly shut off the water to a toilet, allowing inmates to rip it from the wall and use the space behind it to escape.
He is facing 10 counts of principal to simple escape and one count of malfeasance in office.
Three other jail employees have been suspended as the investigation continues.
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams called the escape an obvious case of inside help.
He said “Even Stevie Wonder can see that this was an inside job. Ten violent offenders don’t make their way into a pod made for two and make good their escape through concrete, rebar and barbed wire, without there being some sort of inside assistance.”
When asked why an employee might help inmates escape, he said: “Don’t know — greed, avarice, friendship, the motives that cause men to do bad things.”
The escape took place around 1 a.m. on Friday. It wasn’t discovered until a routine headcount at 8:30 a.m.
Initially, authorities believed 11 inmates had escaped.
They later realized one had simply been moved to a different cell.
Surveillance footage showed inmates tampering with a locked door at 12:22 a.m. They entered the cell about 20 minutes later.
By 1:01 a.m., they had escaped through a hole behind the toilet.
They exited the building via a loading dock and scaled the outer wall using blankets to avoid barbed wire.
From there, they made their way to nearby railroad tracks and the interstate.
At a May 15 press conference, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said: “We have the indication that these detainees received assistance in their escape from inside our department.
“It’s almost impossible — not completely — but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help from the outside.”
The U.S. Marshals, Louisiana State Police, and local probation officers were alerted by 9:30 a.m. New Orleans police were informed at 10:30 a.m.
Three inmates were recaptured by Friday evening. One was found in the French Quarter.
Another, 21-year-old Gary C. Price, was arrested Monday.
As of Tuesday, six inmates remain at large.
(ABC News)
