Contents of the article
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — All 10 fugitives who carried out a brazen escape from a New Orleans prison in May are back in custody after the last inmate still on the run was caught hiding in the basement of an Atlanta home.
Contents of the article
Derrick Groves, 28, was found hiding under the house Wednesday by a police dog sent inside after the Atlanta Police Department's SWAT team spent hours searching the house and tear-gassing it.
Contents of the article
The remaining nine prisoners were recaptured within six weeks of the May 16 escape, most of them in Louisiana.
A New Orleans jury last year found Groves guilty of killing two people after he opened fire at a family party in what prosecutors said was a feud with rival drug dealers. For this conviction, he faces life imprisonment.
Daring New Orleans Jailbreak
Groves and nine other men made a daring overnight escape, escaping through a hole behind a toilet and climbing over a wall while the lone guard assigned to their cell in a New Orleans prison was out getting food.
Contents of the article
The men climbed over the fence and covered them with blankets to avoid being cut by the barbed wire. Surveillance footage shows some of them speeding across a nearby interstate into a neighboring area.
After the prison break, law enforcement tracked down three of the escapees within 24 hours and most of the rest over the next few weeks. While some of the fugitives wandered around nightlife hotspots and others posted on Instagram, Groves kept a low profile.
A tip led authorities to a home in Atlanta.
Information leading to Groves' capture came through the anonymous tip program New Orleans Crimestoppers, Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Fair said. Groves was the only person in the house and no one else was arrested.
But several people appear to have helped Groves and could face aiding and abetting charges, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said.
Contents of the article
The brick home's garage door was caved in and blocked by police after Groves was taken into custody. The house is next door to the Tyler Perry studio, one of the country's largest film production facilities.
“Judging by how long it took an experienced, well-trained SWAT team to get him out, he was planning on hiding for a while,” Fair said.
Shirtless, barefoot and shackled at the wrists and ankles, Groves blew a kiss and then grinned as he saw someone filming him being led into a police car in video provided by the Atlanta Police Department.
Police also found a handgun and 15 pounds of marijuana in the home, Murrill said.
Police say Groves will be sent back to Louisiana.
Groves was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta Wednesday afternoon. He is accused of being a fugitive from justice, jail records show.
Groves will appear in court Thursday for an extradition hearing back to Louisiana, Murrill said.
Groves' Louisiana lawyer, Peter Freiberg, said late Wednesday that he had not yet spoken with his client and declined to comment.
Nine other men accused of escaping from the city jail pleaded not guilty in July after fleeing the charges. The escape charge carries a penalty of two to five years in prison.
Share this article on your social network
