Authorities have apprehended a fourth individual as part of the ongoing investigation into the escape of 10 inmates from a New Orleans jail last week.
The Louisiana State Police announced on Thursday the arrest of 59-year-old Connie Weeden of Slidell, Louisiana. Weeden faces one felony count of accessory after the fact.
According to a statement from the state police, Weeden was in communication with escapee Jermaine Donald via telephone both before and after his jailbreak. Following Donald’s escape, Weeden also allegedly provided him with cash through a mobile phone application.
Jermaine Donald is among the five inmates who remain at large. Five of the ten escapees have been apprehended.
On Monday, Sterling Williams, a 33-year-old maintenance worker employed at the correctional facility, was arrested and charged with allegedly disabling water to a cell. Investigators believe the inmates utilized this cell to facilitate their escape by removing a toilet from the wall, according to the office of Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill.
Previously, on Wednesday, state police reported the arrests of 32-year-old Cortnie Harris of New Orleans and 38-year-old Corvanntay Baptiste of Slidell. Both individuals were charged with being accessories after the fact.
The escape from the Orleans Parish Justice Center occurred in the early hours of May 16. Surveillance footage captured portions of the incident, showing the inmates removing a cell door from its track and breaching a wall located behind a toilet within a cell.
The inmates subsequently scaled a fence separating the jail premises from a nearby construction site before fleeing across a freeway. The escape was not discovered until approximately 8:30 a.m. on May 19, more than seven hours after it occurred.
Connie Weeden has been booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center.
Discussion about this post