New Orleans Jail Worker Gets 2.5 Years in Prison for Enabling Brazen 10-Inmate Escape
Williams admitted turning off water to a jail cell, and prosecutors say the move helped 10 inmates escape from the Orleans Parish Jail.
- On Thursday, former Orleans Parish Jail maintenance worker Sterling Williams received a 2.5-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to malfeasance in office for enabling a 2025 jailbreak involving 10 inmates.
- Williams admitted to turning off water to a cell, allowing 10 inmates to remove a toilet and crawl through a wall gap to escape the facility.
- Attorney Michael Kennedy stated Williams did not intentionally facilitate the escape, claiming inmate Antoine Massey threatened to "shank" him if he didn't comply. Williams acknowledged failing to follow protocol by not generating a work order.
- Beyond Williams, authorities arrested at least 14 other individuals—including family and friends of escapees—for aiding the jailbreak. The Louisiana Attorney General's office noted investigations remain ongoing with potential for additional charges.
- Former Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson faces separate indictments for malfeasance and obstruction of justice, while the 10 escapees await jury trials scheduled for April 5, 2027.
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24 Articles
Custodian sentenced for role in New Orleans jailbreak of 10 inmates - WXXV News 25
The Orleans Parish jail is pictured in New Orleans on May 16, 2025. (Brett Duke/The Advocate via AP, File)By JACK BROOK NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans jail worker received a 2.5-year prison sentence Thursday for enabling 10 inmates to escape through a hole behind a toilet after he turned off its water. Custodian Sterling Williams, 34, pleaded guilty...
Whew! New Orleans Jail Custodian Sentenced To Prison After 10 Inmates Escaped In 2025
A New Orleans jail worker received a 2.5-year prison sentence Thursday (Oct. 15) for enabling 10 inmates to escape last year. As previously reported, the inmates fled through a hole behind a toilet after custodian Sterling Williams turned off its water. Williams, who is 34, pleaded guilty to one count of malfeasance in office. The [...]
New Orleans jail worker gets 2.5 years in prison for enabling brazen 10-inmate escape – WTOP News
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans jail worker received a 2.5-year prison sentence Thursday for enabling 10 inmates to escape through a hole behind a toilet after he turned off its water. Custodian Sterling Williams, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of malfeasance in office for clearing the way for one of the largest...
Custodian sentenced for role in audacious New Orleans jailbreak of 10
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans jail worker received a 2.5-year prison sentence Thursday for enabling 10 inmates to escape through a hole behind a toilet after he turned off its water. Custodian Sterling Williams, 34,
Maintenance worker pleads guilty, sentenced in connection with Orleans Parish jailbreak
A maintenance worker at the Orleans Parish Jail has pleaded guilty in connection with a jailbreak that resulted in ten inmates going on the run after breaking out of the jail last year.
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