The last of 10 inmates who fled the Orleans Parish jail in mid-May was taken into custody Wednesday after a multi-agency operation and a brief standoff in southwest Atlanta, officials said. U.S. Marshals and Atlanta police arrested 28-year-old Derrick Groves after finding him hiding in a crawl space beneath a home; a SWAT team used gas canisters and a K-9 unit to flush him out.
Groves described by prosecutors as among the most dangerous of the ten escapees and convicted last year in a double-homicide — had been on the run nearly five months. He was booked into the Fulton County jail and is expected to be extradited to Louisiana to face additional escape charges on top of his existing convictions. Authorities say the capture followed a tip to New Orleans Crime Stoppers.
The May 16 jailbreak exposed major security failures at the Orleans Parish Justice Center: inmates exploited a hole behind a toilet and slipped past barriers while a guard was away, the AP and other outlets reported. The breakout prompted multiple arrests of people suspected of assisting the fugitives, and an internal inquiry into how the escape occurred.
Most of the ten escapees were recaptured within weeks of the breakout; Groves remained at large until this week. Law enforcement deployed federal, state and local resources across jurisdictions during the months-long hunt. Officials had previously offered rewards up to $50,000 in some cases for information leading to arrests.
Local leaders hailed the arrest as the close of an intense manhunt while prosecutors signaled they will pursue the full range of charges. Orleans Parish and state officials have said the episode will figure in reviews of jail operations and oversight. Investigations and prosecutions related to alleged outside assistance to the escapees including charges against a jail employee and others who may have helped remain active.
Law enforcement accounts say Groves was located at a residence southeast of downtown Atlanta after surveillance and investigative leads narrowed the search. When officers confronted the home, SWAT officers used gas canisters and a police dog to locate and remove Groves from the crawl space; he was taken into custody without reported serious injury to officers or bystanders.
Groves faces new escape charges and will remain in custody pending extradition back to Louisiana, where prosecutors have said they will seek to hold him fully accountable. Authorities also asked the public to continue reporting tips about anyone who may have aided the fugitives.
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