Two women have been arrested and charged with felonies for allegedly assisting fugitives escape from the Orleans Justice Center last week, as law enforcement agencies intensify their search for five inmates still at large, according to Louisiana State Police.
Louisiana State Police investigators determined that 32-year-old Cortnie Harris of New Orleans and 38-year-old Corvanntay Baptiste of Slidell played key roles in aiding the escapees, according to a May 21 press release.
Authorities allege Harris was in contact by phone with an escapee who remains at large and transported two fugitives to multiple locations in New Orleans. Baptiste, investigators allege, communicated with escapee Corey Boyd—who has since been recaptured—via phone and social media, and helped supply him with food while he hid in a residence.
5 Inmates Still Unaccounted For
The escape, which authorities say was facilitated by a maintenance worker who allegedly shut off water to a cell at the request of an inmate, has resulted in an ongoing manhunt for five of the original 10 escapees, according to the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office.The inmates exploited a breach behind a toilet in a cell, slipped through a loading dock, scaled a barbed-wire fence using blankets, and fled across a nearby interstate highway under cover of darkness. The escape went undetected for more than seven hours, until a morning routine headcount revealed that the prisoners were missing.
Authorities have recaptured five of the escapees, including Corey Boyd, who faces second-degree murder charges, and Gary Price, who was apprehended by a SWAT team in New Orleans. The remaining fugitives are considered dangerous, and more than 200 officers from local, state, and federal agencies are involved in the search.
Law enforcement agencies are offering up to $20,000 in rewards for information leading to the capture of each fugitive—$5,000 each from Crimestoppers GNO and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and $10,000 from the FBI, according to state police.
Governor’s Response
In response to the escape and subsequent arrests, Gov. Landry issued an executive order on May 21 demanding an “immediate and aggressive response” from multiple state agencies, according to a statement from his office.The order directs the inspector general to audit case files, mandates the Department of Corrections (DOC) to review jail operations for compliance, and requires all DOC inmates at the Orleans facility to be relocated to state-run institutions.
Landry also called on the Louisiana Supreme Court and the Judiciary Commission to review judicial performance in high-crime parishes, and tasked the attorney general with leading the ongoing investigation.
“We are taking immediate, decisive action to ensure that this never happens again,“ Landry said in a statement. ”The people of Louisiana deserve not only transparency and accountability, but also a justice system that is unyielding in its commitment to public safety—and our Executive Order demands it. Enough is enough.”
Three Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office employees have been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the probe, and further arrests are possible as authorities continue to uncover the full scope of the breach.
