NEW ORLEANS — Authorities have recaptured eight of the ten inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail in a bold and carefully planned jailbreak earlier this month, law enforcement officials said Monday. The two remaining escapees are still at large as a multi-agency manhunt continues.
The latest arrests include three fugitives who were taken into custody on Monday in two separate states, according to a post by the Louisiana State Police on the platform X (formerly Twitter). One of the men was located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while the other two were apprehended in Walker County, Texas, by local authorities.
The newly recaptured individuals were identified as Lenton Vanburen, Leo Tate, and Jermaine Donald. Their arrests follow the earlier capture of Dkenan Dennis, Corey Boyd, Gary C. Price, Kendell Myles, and Robert Moody, bringing the total number of recaptured inmates to eight.
Two inmates remain on the run, and police have not disclosed further details about the ongoing search or the circumstances surrounding Monday’s arrests.
The inmates escaped on May 16 from the Orleans Parish Justice Center, exposing major security vulnerabilities at the facility. According to investigators, the men exploited a malfunctioning cell door, slipped through a gap behind a toilet, climbed over a barbed-wire fence, and disappeared into the night. Their absence wasn’t discovered until the morning headcount, hours after the escape.
Authorities found graffiti on the jail wall mocking the escape with the message “To Easy LoL,” accompanied by an arrow pointing toward the exit route.
The jailbreak triggered a broad investigation into security failures at the jail. A maintenance worker was arrested shortly after the escape, accused of shutting off the toilet’s water supply, which police say enabled the men to exploit the infrastructure gap. The worker claimed he was coerced by threats from one of the inmates.
In addition, four individuals have been arrested for allegedly aiding the fugitives once they were outside the jail.
Most of the escapees were being held on serious violent charges, including murder, and were awaiting trial or sentencing at the time of the escape.
City and state officials have faced mounting scrutiny over the conditions at the Orleans Parish jail, with the incident raising grave concerns about oversight, staffing, and infrastructure maintenance. The investigation into the jailbreak—and how it was facilitated—remains active.
