(NEW ORLEANS) -- A maintenance worker at a New Orleans jail where 10 inmates escaped has been arrested and accused of helping facilitate the breakout, officials said Tuesday.
Sterling Williams, a 33-year-old maintenance worker at the Orleans Parish Justice Center, was arrested and booked into jail Tuesday morning, according to Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill.
Williams allegedly shut off the water to a toilet to help clear the way for the inmates to escape, sources said. The prisoners, including three who are charged with second-degree murder and remain on the run, were able to get out after ripping the toilet off its hinges.
Williams is facing 10 counts of principal to simple escape and one count of malfeasance in office. Williams was initially booked into the Orleans Parish Jail before being relocated to a different facility, Murrill said.
Four other jail employees have been suspended in this investigation.
"Our intent is to make sure this never happens again and so we're going to look at all the things we need to do to change those conditions, and at the same time hold everyone accountable that may have been involved before, during and after," Murrill said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Murrill alleged in her earlier statement that Williams admitted to agents he was involved in helping facilitate the escape. Murrill said Williams allegedly claimed one of the escapees advised him to turn the water off in the cell where the inmates escaped from.
"Instead of reporting the inmate, Williams turned the water off as directed, allowing the inmates to carry out their scheme to successfully escape," Murrill's statement said.
An arrest affidavit filed in the case alleges Williams told investigators one of the inmates "threatened to shank him" if he did not assist them in the escape plan.
"During a Mirandized interview with Williams, he explained to Agents that he turned the water off from the outside pipe walk area on the exterior of cell 6 under direction of a light skinned black male with tattoos on his face, whom he named as 'Massey,' Antoine Massey, who threatened to shank him if he did not turn the water off," according to the affidavit.
The affidavit added that Williams was observed on video surveillance footage in the jail's 1D pod, standing in the open door, talking with escaped inmates Derrick Groves, Massey and another unidentified inmate.
Groves was recently convicted of second-degree murder and faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, prosecutors said.
"Williams stated at that time, Groves tried to take his phone from him and attempted to get Williams to bring a book with cash app information to his cousin in the next pod over," according to the affidavit obtained by New Orleans ABC affiliate WGNO.
The affidavit added, "Because of Williams' actions, 10 inmates from the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office Correctional Center were able to escape from the plumbing area where Williams turned the water off at the behest of Massey. If the inmates removed the sink in the cell and disconnected the rest of the plumbing with the water still on, the plan to escape would not have been successful and potentially flooded the cell, drawing attention to their actions."
The affidavits added that Williams did not reveal his alleged participation in the escape when first confronted by investigators.
"He denied his involvement at the outset, but ... we've gotten more information and that's the basis of the arrest," Murrill said at Tuesday's news conference.
Murrill added, "I don't think that he had to do any of the things that he did. If he was under threat, then he certainly should have brought that to someone else's attention.The facts that I am aware of indicate that there were multiple opportunities to do that, to bring it to the attention of authorities. If he wants to bring that up in his defense, then that's a matter for him and his defense attorneys."
In an interview with ABC News on Tuesday morning, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, whose office is investigating the breakout, said the mass escape was clearly an inside job.
"Ten violent offenders don't make their way into a pod made for two and make good their escape through concrete, rebar and barbed wire, without there being some sort of inside assistance," Williams said
Asked why a jail employee would risk their career to help in the escape, Williams said, "Don't know, greed, avarice, friendship, the motives that cause men to do bad things."
Williams added that he personally tried the murder case against Groves, and two of the homicide prosecutors who worked with him on the case have left the city with their families out of concern for their safety. He also said he has asked the city council to approve funds to hire private security for the courthouse and his office as the manhunt continues.
"One of these individuals shot into a crowd of women and children -- dozens of them -- in an effort to kill one person. So, he's proven he's willing to kill. He's proven he's willing to take risks. He's proven that he does not care about anybody except for himself. And when you look at that video, he's the first person taken out of that jail. So certainly, he's more dangerous," Williams said of Groves.
News of the employee's arrest came as the search for the fugitives still at large went into its fifth day. Later Tuesday, authorities captured Corey Boyd and took him into custody. Boyd was facing charges of second-degree murder prior to his escape.
Besides Groves, two other inmates -- Lenton Vanburen and Jermaine Donald -- are charged with second-degree murder, officials said, and remain at large.
The 10 inmates were discovered missing during a routine headcount at the Orleans Justice Center at approximately 8:30 a.m. local time Friday, according to Maj. Silas Phipps with the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. Initially, officials said 11 had escaped, but officials didn't realize one had just been transferred to another cell.
The inmates are believed to have escaped from the jail around 1 a.m. on Friday, officials said.
The United States Marshals, Louisiana State Police and Probation and Parole were notified by 9:30 a.m. on Friday, the sheriff's office said. New Orleans police officials said they were notified at 10:30 a.m.
Williams said he didn't find out until a member of the news media called to ask him to confirm the breakout at about 10 a.m. on Friday. He said the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, which oversees the jail, failed to notify local police and the public immediately.
"The public is the sixth man on the team in a jailbreak. You want to let the public know immediately when something like this happens," Williams said. "The public was denied the opportunity to participate in this manhunt for eight hours. Law enforcement was denied the opportunity to start looking."
The prosecutor said a friend who lives in downtown New Orleans contacted him to ask if three individuals captured by her home surveillance cameras walking in an alley behind her home at 2 a.m. on Friday were connected to the jailbreak. He said the video, obtained by ABC News, showed Groves and two other individuals walking in the alley.
"If this information had been put out to the public immediately, everyone could have played a role," Williams said.
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, accepted blame.
"I take full responsibility for what happened. This breach happened under my leadership, and it is my responsibility to ensure it is addressed with urgency and transparency," Hutson said.
"To date, we have suspended staff, made an arrest, and launched comprehensive internal and external investigations," she added. "We are also fully cooperating with the independent investigation led by the Louisiana Attorney General, and we have provided full access to all records, surveillance footage, and facility documentation."
Three of the escapees were arrested within 24 hours of the jailbreak, officials said. One was arrested after he was spotted in New Orleans' French Quarter.
Escaped inmates Robert Moody, Dkenan Dennis and Kendall Myles were all recaptured on Friday, just hours after breaking out of the jail. Myles was being held at the jail on a charge of attempted second-degree murder when he allegedly escaped.
One day prior to 19-year-old Boyd's arrest, authorities apprehended 21-year-old Gary C. Price, according to the Louisiana State Police.
Some of the escapees began tampering with a locked cell door at 12:22 a.m. local time Friday and were seen on surveillance footage entering the cell about 20 minutes later, officials said.
The 10 inmates exited the jail through a wall behind a toilet at 1:01 a.m. on Friday, Sheriff Hutson said. They then made their way off the property through a loading dock door and scaled the perimeter wall using blankets to protect themselves from the barbed wire, according to the sheriff's office. From there, officials said they had a clear path to the railroad tracks and then the interstate.
The arrest of the jail maintenance worker came after officials said they were investigating how the breach occurred, saying the inmates had to have received help, or at least some type of tool that enabled them to escape.
"We have the indication that these detainees received assistance in their escape from inside our department," Hutson said at a May 15 news conference. "It's almost impossible -- not completely -- but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help from the outside."
Murrill said the investigation into the breakout is ongoing.
"We will uncover all the facts eventually and anyone who aided and abetted will be prosecuted to the full extent the law allows," Murrill said. "I encourage anyone who knows anything and even those who may have provided assistance to come forward now to obtain the best possible outcome in their particular case."
ABC News' Matt Foster and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.