HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Only two of the 10 inmates who escaped from the Orleans Parish Jail remain at large after three more were captured — including two who led Texas officers on a high-speed pursuit caught on dashcam and body camera video.
Video from the Huntsville Police Department shows Leo Tate, 31, and Jermaine Donald, 42, fleeing law enforcement on May 26 in a white SUV through Walker County, Texas. Police say the vehicle hit speeds of 80 mph before making a U-turn and driving the wrong way on a divided state highway.
Dashcam and body camera footage shows the SUV weaving through traffic and evading patrol vehicles until the suspects abruptly pulled over and surrendered. Officers approached the stopped vehicle with rifles drawn.
“They just ended up giving it up,” Lt. Wade Roberts of the Huntsville Police Department told the Associated Press. The duration of the pursuit hasn’t been disclosed, but the arrest followed a coordinated response by multiple agencies.
Third escapee found sitting on bench after tip
Back in Louisiana, police located Lenton Vanburen Jr., 26, the evening of May 26 after receiving an anonymous tip from a concerned citizen. Vanburen was found sitting on a bench near a department store in Baton Rouge — nearly 80 miles from the jail.
Police say five individuals, including Lenton Vanburen Sr., were arrested for assisting Vanburen Jr. after the escape. All were charged with accessory after the fact, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Still on the run: Convicted killer and rape suspect
Authorities are continuing to search for the final two fugitives:
- Derrick Groves, 27, was convicted in 2023 of two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder for his role in a 2018 Mardi Gras Day shooting. He is also facing a charge of battery against a correctional officer.
- Antoine Massey, 33, has a lengthy criminal record and was recently charged with motor vehicle theft and domestic abuse battery involving strangulation. He’s also wanted by authorities in St. Tammany Parish for suspected kidnapping and rape.
A $20,000 reward is being offered for tips leading to their arrest.
Escape exposed structural and security breakdowns
The mass escape occurred nearly two weeks ago on May 16 when the inmates pried open a faulty cell door, squeezed through a hole behind a toilet and climbed a barbed-wire fence to flee into the night.
Jail staff didn’t realize the inmates were missing until the morning headcount. At the scene, graffiti left behind read “To Easy LoL,” with an arrow pointing to the wall breach.
Watchdog report: Jail was ‘not reasonably safe and secure’
A federal monitor overseeing Orleans Parish Jail released a report on May 27 outlining severe security lapses at the facility. The report highlighted conditions including inmates openly smoking marijuana, crafting weapons from mops and brooms and tampering with cell locks, according to the Associated Press.
The monitor urged Sheriff Susan Hutson to reestablish a high-security unit — a housing strategy Hutson ended in 2022. According to the report, written before the escape, many inmate-on-inmate assaults occurred due to unsupervised movement or manipulated locks.
