A promising tip fizzles as the manhunt for a convicted killer and a chronic escapee intensifies

By Holly Yan, Jason Morris, CNN

(CNN) — A double murderer and a repeat escapee have evaded capture for almost two weeks – leading authorities to believe the fugitives could be anywhere in the US now.

As of Wednesday morning, Antoine Massey and Derrick Groves were still on the run – 12 days after they and eight other inmates broke out of the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans.

The eight other fugitives have been caught – mostly in New Orleans. But two of the most recent arrests happened in Texas. Now, several states are involved in the manhunt for Massey and Groves.

“We are currently at an impasse on figuring out where these two are,” Deputy US Marshal Brian Fair told CNN on Wednesday.

“They can be here locally or can be anywhere in the United States at this point.”

More staff members from the US Marshals Service have joined the manhunt as the search grows “more tedious” and gets “more methodical,” Fair said.

The vehicle that two of the escapees – Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald – were driving when they were caught was rented in New Orleans and driven to Texas, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told Fox News on Wednesday.

The two remaining escapees could also be outside of Louisiana, she said.

“They absolutely could be moving to other areas. I alerted my colleagues in the states surrounding Louisiana immediately after the jailbreak to be on alert and to notify their law enforcement partners that these individuals could be coming to their states,” the attorney general told Fox News.

A glimmer of hope emerged Tuesday when someone reported a possible sighting of Massey around 8:30 a.m. in Natchez, Mississippi, Police Chief Cal Green said, according to CNN affiliate WDSU. Natchez is in Adams County, about 135 miles north of New Orleans.

But that hope faded by Tuesday night. “We do not believe that the suspect is in our area,” Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten said, according to WDSU. “That’s not to say he wasn’t here, but we are saying he is not here now.”

Authorities in Natchez used a lot of man power to search the area for the escapees, including using helicopters, police dogs, drones and video surveillance, Patten told CNN on Wednesday.

A fugitive who keeps breaking free

Massey was most recently charged with vehicle theft and domestic abuse involving strangulation, Orleans Parish records reveal.

But the 32-year-old has a long track record of escaping custody. In 2007, he broke out of a New Orleans juvenile detention center after being arrested on suspicion of armed robbery and aggravated assault, according to NOLA.com.

A broken lock at the detention center allowed Massey, then 15, and five other juveniles to access metal shackles, which they used to shatter a window and escape, nola.com reported. Massey stayed on the run for more than two weeks before authorities found him on an interstate in east New Orleans.

Massey has also cut off electronic ankle monitors twice, said Matt Dennis, an employee with the company that operates the monitors, according to WDSU. Court records from late 2023 say Massey had “tampered and/or removed the court-ordered GPS monitor.”

Dennis said he was “astonished” that someone with Massey’s escape history was being held on the first floor of the New Orleans jail – a floor that had defective door locks.

“There isn’t an ounce of this man’s history that doesn’t say ‘escape,’” Dennis told CNN affiliate WVUE.

A convicted killer is still on the loose

Groves, 27, was convicted of murdering two men on Mardi Gras 2018.

Groves was found to be one of the gunmen who opened fire with AK-47-style assault rifles “on what should have been a joyous Mardi Gras family gathering,” the district attorney’s office said.

Groves was found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder, charges that carry a life sentence, the district attorney said.

‘Hours and hours of jail calls’

Authorities have “a lot of leads” and are getting tips from the community, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said Tuesday.

“It’s vitally important that we catch these fugitives, whether it’s Arkansas, whether it’s Louisiana. But it’s also critically important that we know how they got out and who helped them get out, and we can’t wait until they’re in custody to do that,” Williams said.

“My office, the digital forensics team, has been scouring through hours and hours of jail calls using some AI software to figure out who they were in contact with the night before, hours before, to figure out where they may have been heading,” Williams said. “Their circle is tightening, as people who are assisting are being arrested.”

Authorities are “chasing down” leads to try and identify other associates of the escapees in neighboring states. Those arrested in connection with helping the inmates after the jailbreak include relatives and romantic partners, Murrill said.

CNN’s Karina Tsui, Matt Rehbein, Chris Lau and Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report.

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