Orleans Parish Employee Arrested in Connection with Jail Break

By Monday night, authorities had arrested 33-year-old Sterling Williams. He has since gone to work for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and now faces charges as a conspirator in a recent jailbreak. The episode occurred at a jail located in the middle of downtown New Orleans. It’s right across the bridge—literally just two miles—from the vibrant, world-renowned French Quarter. Williams is charged with ten counts of principal to simple escape and one count of malfeasance in office.

Here’s how it happened Early Friday morning, inmates hatched their death-defying escape. They tore a toilet completely off the wall and pulled a sliding door completely off its tracks. Williams shut off the water to the inmates’ cell. This was an extraordinary step to take in the middle of their escape. Yet court documents indicate that Williams was genuinely under duress. He said that Antoine Massey, one of the six remaining fugitive inmates, told him he would “shank” him if he didn’t shut off the water.

So far, authorities have recaptured five of the inmates who took part in the escape. For one thing, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is in charge of Louisiana’s ongoing investigation. In her remarks on the case, Murrill particularly stressed the need to bring to light every fact stemming from the escape. She stated that “anyone who aided and abetted will be prosecuted to the full extent the law allows.”

Williams allegedly admitted to law enforcement agents that an inmate told him to turn off the water in the cell. That was a surprising discovery for them as they investigated. Rather than reporting this potential threat, he joined them, giving the inmates the green light to successfully carry out their plan. Murrill urged anyone with information about the escape or those who may have assisted to come forward: “We encourage anyone who knows anything and even those who may have provided assistance to come forward now to obtain the best possible outcome in their particular case.”

Running an escape investigation to determine how she got out. It will help establish whether anyone else played a role in the incident, too. The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office did not provide further information regarding Williams’ employment history. They have not defined what position he would occupy within the department.