In a shocking lapse of security, ten inmates escaped from the Orleans Parish Justice Center in New Orleans by crawling through a tiny space.The prisoners disappeared into the night and left behind taunting graffiti for the police, reports the New York Post.The jailbreak occurred around 1 am Friday. The incident sparked serious concerns about conditions and oversight inside the troubled facility, with officials now probing whether jail employees helped facilitate the escape.‘To Easy LOL’The escape route was small but surprising. It was a hole behind a toilet, just wide enough for someone to slip through. Above it, graffiti mocked the jail staff with messages like “To Easy LOL” and “Catch us when you can,” next to a cartoon face with its tongue out.Jail officials only discovered the mass escape at 8:30 am during a routine headcount in the morning. Surveillance footage later revealed the inmates slipping through a door near a loading dock before scaling a wall and crossing Interstate 10. They had ditched their orange jumpsuits for civilian clothes.Inside job?The escape has exposed major vulnerabilities at the jail. Sheriff Susan Hutson confirmed that only one civilian employee had been monitoring security cameras in that wing of the jail, and that person had left their station to get food. Three staff members have since been suspended.About one-third of the facility’s security cameras are reportedly not working, including three in the unit where the escape occurred. The inmates had also managed to tamper with and break a locked cell door just after midnight. According to officials, the sliding doors in that area can be forced off their tracks.Chief of Corrections Jeworski Mallett said the plumbing panels behind the toilet could not have been removed from the inside, suggesting possible inside help. “We know that this could not be removed from the inside,” he said. “We are investigating that to see exactly who entered these areas… and if this was an inside job.”‘Armed and dangerous’ fugitives on the runSo far, three of the ten escapees have been captured. Kendall Myles, 20, was arrested in the French Quarter by city police. Robert Moody, 21, was found in Central City, while Dkenan Dennis was also detained. Authorities have warned the remaining seven fugitives are “armed and dangerous.”The inmates’ criminal records include charges ranging from murder and armed robbery to domestic abuse, kidnapping, and rape.Overcrowded and understaffedSheriff Hutson has long warned of capacity issues at the jail, which houses around 1,500 inmates, well above the 1,250-inmate limit set by the City Council and far beyond the 900 detainees her team can manage. Staffing levels currently stand at just 60%.The jail was placed on lockdown at 10:30 pm the night before the escape, but that did little to prevent the breach. Bounty placedA manhunt is underway with help from federal agencies. The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward, and Crimestoppers GNO is offering $2,000 for information leading to an arrest.
