The Orleans Parish jail is pictured in New Orleans on Friday, May 16, 2025.(Brett Duke /The Advocate via AP)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nearly a week after 10 men escaped from a New Orleans jail by crawling through a hole behind a toilet and scaling a fence, five have been apprehended and five remain at large.

Authorities believe sheriff’s employees must have aided the escape, and three have been suspended. A jail maintenance man is the only person arrested so far and is accused of helping the prisoners.

Here is a look at the timeline of events surrounding one of the largest jailbreaks in recent U.S. history:

May 15

At 10:30 p.m., the jail is locked down per standard nighttime rules.

May 16

About 12:20 a.m., prisoners yank open a cell door when the jail's lone guard is away getting food. The men escape through a hole cut behind a sink-toilet unit that they removed. Authorities haven't specified what tools were used to cut through steel bars or how the prisoners got them.

What happened inside the cell is unclear. Authorities say that the water to the toilet was off, allowing the inmates to move it without flooding or causing a scene.

Prosecutors say that some time ahead of the escape Sterling Williams, a maintenance worker at the jail, turned the water off at the direction of an inmate. But Williams' attorney told The Associated Press that Williams was asked by an unnamed sheriff’s deputy to unclog a toilet, which is why he had shut off the water.

At 1:01 a.m., surveillance video captures the 10 men sprinting out of the jail, throwing blankets over a barbed wire fence and scaling it. Some of the men are then seen running across an interstate.

A head count at the jail generally starts around 6:30 a.m. and takes less than an hour. However, on this morning sheriff’s officials are still verifying whether anyone had escaped more than two hours later, according to Jeworski “Jay” Mallett, the jail’s chief of corrections.

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, who oversees the jail, and Mallett say they are investigating why it took so long for staffers to identify and report that the men were missing. It is not clear exactly what time jail staff noticed the men were gone.

Around 8:45 a.m., the jail goes on lockdown. About 45 minutes later, the escape is “officially reported” by Hutson to a law enforcement task force.

Around 10:30 a.m., city and state police learn of the escape. New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick says she learned of the jailbreak indirectly and not from the sheriff.

At approximately 11:30 a.m., law enforcement officials hold a news conference about the escape.

Around noon, Louisiana state police say they have apprehended escapee Kendall Myles, 20, in the city's French Quarter after a brief foot chase. He was identified by the city’s network of facial recognition security cameras. Myles was in jail facing charges of attempted second-degree murder and armed robbery. Officials say he had twice escaped from juvenile custody.

The sheriff says three jail employees have been suspended pending an investigation. It is not immediately clear whether any of the employees are suspected of helping with the escape. Officials also don't say if the employee who left to get food is among the three suspended.

In the evening, escapees Robert Moody and Dkenan Dennis are apprehended separately in the city. Moody, 21, was being held on charges of illegal carrying of a weapon with narcotics, attempted second- degree battery and obstruction. Dennis, 24, was being held on charges including armed robbery with firearm and illegal carrying of a weapon during a crime of violence.

May 19

A fourth escapee, Gary C. Price, 21, is taken into custody in New Orleans. He was originally held at the New Orleans jail on charges of first-degree murder, domestic abuse and aggravated assault.

May 20

Williams is arrested and held on $1.1 million bond. Williams is charged with 10 counts of principle to simple escape and one count of malfeasance in office.

Authorities say he has admitted he turned the water off in a cell before the men slipped away through the hole behind the toilet. They say he told investigators an inmate threatened to stab him if he didn’t help. But an attorney for Williams, said the jail worker actually didn't take the threat seriously.

Michael Kennedy, Williams' appointed attorney, says that the maintenance worker had just been doing his job. Williams told his attorney that he hadn't tried to aid in the escape but was rather unclogging a toilet — at the direction of a deputy — and needed to shut off the water to do so.

Kennedy said he did not know what day Williams worked on the toilet, whether he finished unclogging it, if he turned the water back on or how long he was inside the cell.

State police confirm that Corey Boyd, 19, has been apprehended. Boyd was being held on second-degree murder charges.

Hutson, the sheriff, temporarily suspends her reelection campaign, saying, “Now is the time to focus on security, accountability and public safety.”

May 21

Kennedy meets with Williams for a 30-minute discussion to learn about the events that led to his arrest. While many details are still being filled-in, Kennedy alleged that the sheriff’s office is “trying to use” the employee as “a scapegoat to minimize their own embarrassment.” Kennedy said that Williams denies all criminal accusations made against him.

In the afternoon, authorities announced that they arrested two people accused of helping some of the escapees.

Police allege that Cortnie Harris, 32, was in contact with one of the escapees, who is still on the run and transported two escapees to multiple locations in New Orleans. Corvanntay Baptiste, 38, was in touch with Boyd and helped him get food while he was in hiding, police say. Both people were charged with felony count of being an accessory after the fact.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025