new orleans — NEW ORLEANS (AP) — All 10 fugitives killed A shameless escape From a New Orleans prison in May, they returned to custody after the last prisoner was still on the run Caught hiding In the basement crawl space of a house in Atlanta.
Derek GrovesThe man, 28, was found Wednesday barricaded under the house by a police dog sent inside after the Atlanta Police Department’s SWAT team spent hours searching the home and deploying tear gas inside.
The other nine inmates were captured within six weeks of the May 16 escape, most of them in Louisiana.
A New Orleans jury convicted Groves last year of killing two people after he opened fire on a family party in what prosecutors said was a feud with rival drug dealers. He faces life imprisonment based on this conviction.
Groves and nine other men made a daring escape overnight by escaping through a hole behind a toilet and climbing over the wall while the sole guard assigned to their cell block in a New Orleans prison was away getting food.
The men climbed the fence and used blankets to avoid being hit by the barbed wire. Surveillance footage showed some of them running across a nearby highway into a neighborhood.
After the prison break, law enforcement tracked down three escapees within 24 hours and most of the others over the next few weeks. While some escapees wandered the nightlife hotspots and others made Instagram postsGroves kept a low profile.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Fair said the information that led to Groves’ arrest came through New Orleans Crimestoppers, an anonymous tip program. Groves was the only person in the home, and no one else was arrested.
But several people appear to have helped Groves, and they could face charges of aiding and abetting, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Morell said.
The brick home’s garage door collapsed inward and was locked by police after Groves was taken into custody. The house is located in a neighborhood next to Tyler Perry Studios, one of the largest film production facilities in the country.
“Based on how long it took an experienced, well-trained SWAT team to take him out, he was planning to hide out for a while,” Fair said.
Groves, shirtless, barefoot and shackled at his wrists and ankles, kissed him and then grinned at someone filming him being led into a police car, in a video provided by the Atlanta Police Department.
Police also found a handgun and 15 pounds of marijuana inside the home, Morrell said.
Groves was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon. Prison records show that he is accused of being a fugitive from justice.
Groves is scheduled to appear in court Thursday for an extradition hearing to Louisiana, Morrell said.
Groves’ Louisiana attorney, Peter Freiberg, said late Wednesday afternoon that he had not yet spoken with his client and declined to comment.
The other nine men accused of escaping from the city prison pleaded not guilty to the charges in July. The penalty for escape is between two and five years in prison.