Orleans Parish DA says sheriff's office 'compromised' amid lawsuit, jailbreak investigation
The district attorney in New Orleans fired back at the local sheriff who sought his recusal from the investigation into a massive 10-man escape from the county's jail, escalating a two-week war of words between the two.
After Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, whose department runs the jail, filed a lawsuit seeking to bar Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams from investigating the jailbreak, Williams made clear his thoughts on the sheriff.
"After this jailbreak, jail leadership should have immediately requested an independent forensic processing of that scene," he said Thursday evening in a media release. "It’s hard not to see this agency as anything but compromised until any bad actors have been identified and rooted out."
"The Sheriff’s Office’s time and resources were clearly misspent this week, and once again, this office finds itself two steps behind the moment," the release continued.
NEW ORLEANS DISTRICT ATTORNEY BLASTS SHERIFF OVER BOTCHED PRISON ESCAPE INVESTIGATION
"We, along with our other law enforcement partners, will remain focused on the crisis at hand: recapturing every individual involved in this escape, understanding the systemic failures or individual actions that made it possible, and implementing meaningful corrective measures."
Hutson filed a motion in a New Orleans court after what she called "ongoing attacks" on the sheriff's office in "an unprecedented display of political self-serving bias," according to ABC News.
The sheriff noted that Williams is also backing her opponent in an upcoming reelection bid to remain the parish's top cop. Last week, Hutson suspended campaign operations to focus on the breakout.
The matter was settled out of court on Thursday in a meeting with Orleans Parish Criminal Judge Nandi Campbell.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill's office will continue to lead the investigation into how the men, including a four-time killer and a serial escapee, broke out of their cell and hopped the jail's barbed-wire fence to freedom on May 16.
"I will continue to conduct an independent investigation into how the ten violent inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center on Friday, May 16," Murrill said in an X post on Thursday night, adding that she will provide recommendations to relevant government entities to ensure such an escape never occurs again.
Friday marks two weeks since 10 inmates escaped from the Orleans Parish Justice Center in New Orleans. Two inmates, including a four-time convicted killer, are still on the loose after the jailbreak.
Derrick Groves was convicted in October of a double-homicide stemming from a shooting during Mardi Gras in 2018. After his conviction, he pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in unrelated cases and was scheduled to be sentenced in July. He was being held in the jail until his sentencing.
Antoine Massey, a four-time escapee known locally for consistently evading law enforcement, also remains free.
On Thursday, Crime Stoppers and the FBI both increased their rewards for information leading to the arrests of the pair. Each man now has a $50,000 bounty on his head.
The eight other escapees have been caught as local, state and federal law enforcement continue to pour resources into ending the manhunt for good.
Fourteen people have been arrested for assisting the escapees either before or after they broke out.
Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Hutson, Williams, Murrill and the New Orleans Criminal District Court for comment.