Less than an hour after midnight on the morning of May 16, 2025, a grainy surveillance tape captured a shadowy form sprinting on Baronne Street downtown. The shirtless and barefooted man vanished into the shadows. He was 27-year-old Derrick Groves, twice-convicted double murderer and centerpiece for one of the most sensational escapes the city had witnessed in years.
Now, 40 days later, Groves remains a fugitive sparking a massive, multi-agency manhunt, sending alarm throughout Louisiana, and casting serious doubts on safety and trust within the criminal justice system of the city.
Groves didn’t escape alone. He was one of ten inmates who broke out of the Orleans Justice Center by exploiting a series of security failures that read like the script of a prison break thriller.
Officials say Groves and the others forced open a faulty cell door, removed a loose toilet from wall and crawled through a hole into a maintenance area. From there, they dropped from a loading dock and scaled a barbed-wire fence before disappearing into the streets.
“This was no fluke,”
said New Orleans City Councilmember JP Morrell.
“It was a coordinated inside job. That’s beyond disconcerting.”
Eight escapees have since been recaptured one even turned himself in at Angola Prison, telling guards the conditions there were “better.” But Groves and fellow escapee Antoine Massey are still missing.
Despite over a month of searching, authorities have no confirmed sightings of Groves since that fleeting Baronne Street video. According to the FBI and U.S. Marshals, tips have placed him in Violet and Bastrop, Louisiana, but none have checked out.
Groves is considered armed and extremely dangerous. He was convicted in October 2024 for a 2018 Mardi Gras Day mass shooting, where two people were killed and two others wounded. Prosecutors released that he had bragged on social media about the shootings and had a history of violence, including assaulting a corrections officer a few months before his trial.
“This man is dangerous. We need him off the streets,”
said Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill. Authorities now offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of either Groves or Massey.
On June 9, U.S. Marshals arrested Darriana Burton, Groves’ girlfriend and former jail employee, on charges of conspiracy to commit escape. Her bond was set at $2.5 million. Officials allege she coordinated with Groves via FaceTime and text messages, possibly even using unmonitored calls.
“She knew exactly what she was doing,”
said one law enforcement source.
Sterling Williams, a jail maintenance worker, was also arrested. He allegedly shut off the water to Groves’ cell making it possible to remove the toilet and access the crawl space. Williams claims he did so “for plumbing issues,” not to assist the escape.
Three other jail employees have been suspended, and more arrests are expected.
The fallout has been fierce. Witnesses and prosecutors tied to Groves’ trial have fled the state, fearing for their safety. Families near the Justice Center are demanding transparency.
“This isn’t just a jailbreak. It’s a failure of leadership,”
said one local resident on Instagram.
“We don’t feel safe anymore.”
Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who was in France during the crisis, has been widely criticized for her silence.
“The mayor’s absence during a public safety emergency is unacceptable,”
said Councilmember Morrell.
The Orleans Justice Center already infamous for poor conditions faces renewed scrutiny. Past inmates describe undrinkable water, unsafe cells, and unchecked violence.
Groves’ own family has spoken out, urging him to surrender.
“This needs to end peacefully,”
one relative told local media.
“Derrick, please come home. This isn’t the way.”
As of June 25, Groves remains a fugitive, and public frustration is mounting. Law enforcement pledges to keep searching and to prosecute every person involved in the escape.
“We’re not stopping until he’s back behind bars,”
said a U.S. Marshals spokesperson.
For those with any information, authorities urge immediate contact with Crimestoppers or the FBI.
