Sterling Williams, 33, a maintenance worker at the Justice Center, a prison in New Orleans was arrested Monday and charged, Wednesday with helping 10 inmates break out

Ten men who broke out of a New Orleans jail last week reportedly, clogged a toilet to get the water shut off so that they could escape through a hole behind it

Authorities have said Williams claimed an inmate threatened him to turn off the water to a toilet or be ‘shanked’, leading to the massive jailbreak

Williams through his defense attorney recanted, claiming he was just doing his job

By contrast, the official account is that when he was arrested, Williams admitted that he turned off water to the toilet and cut the hole in the wail under duress

As of Thursday authorities had recaptured all ten escapees from the New Orleans prison and transferred them to to a more secure facility

On Wednesday, authorities in Orleans Parish arrested two people accused of helping some of the inmates escape

Cortnie Harris, 32, and Corvanntay Baptiste, 38, were each charged with one felony count of being an accessory after the fact

Ten men who broke out of a New Orleans jail last week clogged a toilet to get the water shut off so that they could escape through a hole behind it

Ten men who broke out of a New Orleans jail on May 16, 2025, clogged a toilet to get the water shut off so that they could escape through a hole behind it, a lawyer for a maintenance worker who is charged with helping them said Wednesday.
The worker left in the cross hairs, 33-year-old Sterling Williams, did not know about the men’s plan and did not allow the inmates to cut a pipe behind the toilet to create an opening for their escape, attorney Michael Kennedy told media.
However the current version proffered by Kennedy significantly differs from the narrative presented by authorities a day earlier, when his client was arrested.

Sterling Williams, a maintenance worker at the New Orleans jail, was charged with helping 10 inmates break out after turning off water to a clogged toilet. Williams later told cops that an inmate had threatened to “shank” him if he did not turn off the water

Authorities have said an inmate instructed Williams to turn off the water to a toilet, leading to one of the largest jailbreaks in recent U.S. history. Prisons discovered the breakout during headcount at 8:30 am, just over eight hours after the gang of allegedly violent offenders used the small porthole to enter a maintenance area, scale a wall and exit the New Orleans prison, WVUE reported.
The escapees, all described as violent male offenders, were listed as Derrick Groves, Corey Boyd, Jermaine Donald, Leo Tate Sr., Antoine Massey, Robert Moody, Dkenan Davis, Gary Price, Lenton Vanburen Jr. and Keith Lewis.
As of Thursday authorities had recaptured all ten escapees from the New Orleans prison. Louisiana State police Air Support and SWAT transferred the fugitives to a secure state facility
According to defense attorney Michael Kennedy after a deputy called Williams to fix a toilet, he found it overflowing. “This was clearly all part of an orchestrated plan,” Kennedy said.
Williams “was nothing more than the tool they used to turn off the water, which they knew would have to happen after clogging the toilet.”

These 10 inmates escaped from a prison in New Orleans, Louisiana prison on Friday May 16, using a small window that was covered by a toilet, derisively leaving a wall full of taunting graffiti for investigators

When Williams was arrested late Monday, he allegedly admitted to cutting off the water in the cells at the Orleans Parish Justice Center so the inmates could pull the toilet from the wall and escape. He claimed one of the escapees informed him of the plan and threatened him with retaliation if he refused to cooperate, according to an arrest affidavit.
According to an arrest affidavit that made no mention of a clogged toilet, pointing out that Williams could have reported the threat and the escape plan, adding that because Williams turned the water off, the inmates were “able to successfully make good” on their escape.
The latest narrative proffered by Kennedy is basically a recant that states that Sterling Williams did not report the escape because he was “not aware” it was happening.
The defense lawyer also addressed the authorities’ statements that his client was threatened into helping with the escape.
“He was not aware that there was going to be an escape,” Kennedy said. “He was not conspiring with them. He had no knowledge that he was being used.”

Williams a maintenance staffer at the jail claims that he didn’t know about the men’s plan and did not allow the inmates to cut a pipe behind the toilet to create an opening for their escape

The sheriff of Orleans Parish Tuesday said that she believes the escape was an inside job. Sheriff Hutson said plumbing panels and the toilet used in the escape could only be removed from the outside, fueling suspicion of internal assistance, adding that an internal investigation is underway.
Officials also acknowledged that high-risk inmates were being housed in minimum-security conditions.
The sheriff office said in a statement, “We acknowledge there were lapses in security.”
Staffing levels at the jail are at 60%, Hutson said. The detainees were housed in this particular unit due to ongoing renovations on their previous unit, which included the installation of new locks.
Furthermore, approximately one-third of the security cameras throughout the facility are currently inoperable.
The New Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams and state Attorney General Liz Murrill toured the jail Wednesday morning. At the conclusion of the tour AG Williams told reporters after the tour that “certainly more than one person” was responsible for the escape.
Inmate Antoine Massey, who approached Sterling Williams and said he would “shank” him as he was doing his maintenance work, was “just talking to talk” and not intimidating the maintenance worker, Kennedy said.
“Everyone seems to have leaped on that, saying he was acting out of fear. No,” Kennedy said.
“Yes, someone said they would shank him. They didn’t say it in a particularly threatening manner. They said it more as an aside.”
Kennedy said the cell with the clogged toilet was for disabled inmates and should never have been in use. “No one should have been in this cell to begin with,” he said. “This cell should have been locked down.”
“It would seem obvious to me that filling up the toilet, clogging the toilet, was a portion of the escapees’ plan,” Kennedy said.
“They would know that whoever the maintenance person was would have to turn off the water … because it was overflowing.”

One of the escaped inmates Gary Price, [photo], was back in custody by Monday, three days after the prison break

The escaped inmates did not last long on the lam as the first was recaptured within hours. As of Thursday May 22, all ten fugitives had been back in custody

Kennedy said he was only able to meet with Williams for around 30 minutes via Zoom. He did not ask Williams whether he had finished unclogging the toilet, whether he turned the water back on, or how long he was inside the cell.
According to his lawyer, Williams did not know the name of the deputy who told him to fix the clogged toilet.
Williams is worried about his safety and his future, his lawyer said. He is being held in a different facility in a separate parish.
“The most important thing I’ve learned is that these charges are ridiculous and the sheriff’s office is trying to use him as a scapegoat to minimize their own embarrassment,” Kennedy said.

As of Thursday authorities had recaptured all ten escapees from the New Orleans prison. While three were already in custody, Louisiana State Police Air Support and SWAT transferred the remaining 7 inmates to a secure state facility

“He did nothing more than the job they pay him to do, and now they’re attempting to sacrifice him for it.”
Williams is charged with 10 counts of principal to simple escape and one count of malfeasance in office.
On Wednesday authorities in Orleans Parish arrested two more people accused of helping some of the escapees.
Each facing a single felony count of being an accessory after the fact, according to a Louisiana State Police press release, Cortnie Harris, 32, and Corvanntay Baptiste, 38, were booked into the Plaquemines Parish Detention Center.

On Wednesday, authorities in Orleans Parish arrested two people accused of helping some of the inmates escape from the Justice Center, a prison in New Orleans, Louisiana

An initial investigation showed that Harris was in touch by phone with an escapee while he was on the run and transported two escapees to multiple locations in New Orleans, the release said.
Investigators said Baptiste had been in contact by phone and social media with Corey Boyd, who has since been recaptured, and helped him get food while he was hiding.