9th escaped New Orleans inmate captured, sheriff’s office says, one last inmate still at large

By Zoe Sottile, Jason Morris, Ryan Young

(CNN) — Antoine Massey, a serial escapee who vanished from a New Orleans jail with nine other inmates just after midnight on May 16, has been apprehended in New Orleans, the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

The last remaining escapee, Derrick Groves, is still on the run after breaking out of the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans over a month ago.

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

The 33-year-old was captured in a rental property in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, according to Deputy US Marshal Brian Fair. The location is just miles from the jail where Massey and the other inmates made their brazen escape, taking advantage of bad locks, stolen bedding and a hungry jail employee, and using electric hair trimmers with multiple clipper blades to help cut their way through the cell walls.

Massey was taken into custody without incident after being surrounded on Friday afternoon, according to the US Marshals. It was “peaceful,” Fair told CNN.

“After receiving a tip, follow-up work was done and lead directly to the arrest today,” Fair told CNN.

The 33-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.

Early in June, authorities raided a home after a video showed a man claiming to be Massey saying he was innocent.

In the video, the man claiming to be Massey appealed to Lil Wayne for help and held a document to the camera – what he says is a stamped affidavit that proves his innocence. He claimed his ex-girlfriend, Diamond White, recanted her allegation of abuse in the affidavit.

White has not responded to CNN’s earlier request for comment. She was arrested after allegedly helping Massey after his escape, Louisiana State Police announced May 26.

Groves, the inmate still at large, was convicted in October of killing two people in 2018 and later pleaded guilty to battery of a corrections officer.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Holly Yan contributed to this report.

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