Five months after ten prisoners broke out of a Louisiana jail, the last escapee has been captured, Louisiana State Police confirmed on Wednesday. The runaway inmate, 28-year-old Derrick Groves, was taken into custody in Atlanta, Georgia, following a brief stand-off, police said. Police released several gas canisters into a house where Groves was believed to be hiding, and then found him hiding in a crawl space, CBS News reported. The ten inmates, including Groves, had fled the Orleans Parish Justice Center in May by ripping a toilet from the wall and breaking metal bars around the hole in the wall before climbing down a hall and running across a highway. The inmates had scrawled a few messages into the wall above the hole, including 'To Easy LoL', a smiley face, and another that appeared to tell officers to catch them if they can. Their escape was facilitated by a perfect storm of staffing issues and building design flaws, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson told CBS News in August. A tip led investigators to Groves in the Atlanta area. When police first approached the home, it appeared no one was there, but ultimately, he was found in a crawl space he had created for hiding. Groves was convicted of second-degree murder in October 2024 after firing an assault rifle into a Mardi Gras block party, killing two adults, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He now faces additional charges for his role in the escape and will be extradited to Louisiana for processing.
Catch Me If You Can: New Orleans Inmate Captured After 5-Month Chase

Catch Me If You Can: New Orleans Inmate Captured After 5-Month Chase
Derrick Groves, the last of ten inmates who escaped jail in New Orleans, has been apprehended in Atlanta, marking the end of a five-month manhunt. How did he evade capture, and what led to his eventual capture?
After five months of evasion following a daring escape from a Louisiana jail, Derrick Groves has been captured in Atlanta, Georgia. The 28-year-old was found hiding in a crawl space during a police standoff. The escape of ten inmates, which involved them breaking through a wall, raised questions about safety and management in the Orleans Parish Justice Center. Groves, sentenced to life for murder, now faces additional charges for his role in the breakout.