In a daring midnight escape that has shocked the local community, ten men broke out of a New Orleans jail in an incident authorities describe as both audacious and troubling. The escape unfolded overnight at the Orleans Justice Center, where the inmates exploited long-standing facility deficiencies to slip away, evading capture amid suspicions of inside assistance.
According to officials, the breakout occurred while the lone guard responsible for their pod was away briefly fetching food leaving the prisoners unsupervised. Surveillance footage reveals the fugitives sprinting from the facility, some dressed in orange, others in white, as they navigated a series of obstacles to reach freedom. They are seen scaling a fence using blankets to shield themselves from barbed wire, before darting across the nearby interstate in a bid for safety.
A photograph obtained by The Associated Press shows the escape route a hole behind a toilet in one of the cells, with graffiti scrawled above it that reads “Too Easy LoL,” accompanied by an arrow pointing toward the gap. The discovery of this secret passage highlights the vulnerabilities officials have long warned about, emphasizing that the escape was facilitated by facility flaws that had yet to be addressed.
Alarmingly, the escape went unnoticed for more than seven hours. It wasn’t until a routine morning headcount that law enforcement officials realized the ten men were missing. Sheriff’s office representatives revealed that no deputy was present in the pod at the time. Instead, a civilian technician was there to observe but had stepped away momentarily to get food, leaving the inmates unsupervised.
The immediate aftermath saw the quick arrest of one escapee, Kendall Myles, 20, who was caught after a brief foot chase through the French Quarter. Myles, who has previously escaped juvenile detention twice, is now back in custody as authorities continue their search for the remaining nine fugitives.
Sheriff Susan Hutson expressed her frustration, blaming the escape on “defective locks” and suggesting the possibility of inside help. She stated that she has been raising concerns about the jail’s infrastructure for some time, advocating for funding to repair the aging security systems. Hutson emphasized that the vulnerabilities exploited during the breakout point to systemic issues that need urgent addressing to prevent future incidents.
As the search intensifies, the community remains on edge, questioning the safety of a facility that failed to contain its inmates and the integrity of the security measures supposed to keep the public safe. The authorities’ focus now is on recapturing the remaining escapees and ensuring such a brazen breach does not happen again.
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