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Authorities have raided the residence where one of the two remaining escapees from a New Orleans jail apparently shot an Instagram video proclaiming his innocence, according to a source close to the investigation.
Antoine Massey, 33, was not located during the raid, the source told Fox News.
Authorities found clothes belonging to Massey at the residence, according to the Associated Press, who cited an anonymous official. Police were reportedly tipped off by Massey’s relatives, who recognized the home.
In a now-deleted video from an Instagram account, Massey appeared to tell viewers that he didn’t break out of jail on May 16, but instead that he was let out.
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“They say that I broke out. I didn’t break out, I was let out,” the man said in the video. “I’m one of the ones that was let out of Orleans Parish jail where they said I escaped, right?”
He begged for help from prominent rappers and President Donald Trump.
“I’m asking for help from the world,” the man said. “From Meek Mills, Lil Wayne, YoungBoy, Donald Trump. I’m asking for these people. I couldn’t even get a lawyer. I couldn’t afford a lawyer to prove my innocence.”
In the video, he also denied ever threatening Sterling Williams, 33, a jail maintenance worker employed by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office. Williams was arrested for allegedly aiding in the 10-man escape, but told police he was coerced into helping under threat of being “shanked.”
He said maintenance workers were only allowed near inmates if they were guarded by a deputy.
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Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson responded to the video.
“If the individual depicted in the video is indeed Antoine Massey, we strongly urge him to come forward and turn himself in to the proper authorities,” she said. “Cooperating with law enforcement is in his best interest and may help avoid additional charges. It is important that justice is served appropriately and that due process is followed.”
The Louisiana State Police (LSP) declined to verify the authenticity of the video, saying that doing so “may hinder investigative leads or law enforcement operations.”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office also declined to comment.
The FBI did not return a comment request.
Nineteen days ago, 10 men escaped from the Orleans Parish Justice Facility through a hole behind a toilet in their cell. They hopped the jail’s barbed-wire fence to freedom.
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Over the past two-and-half weeks, LSP has led the manhunt to capture the escapees, with help from local and federal partners. So far, eight of the men have been brought back into custody.
Derrick Groves, 28, a four-time killer, is the only other inmate besides Massey who has not been captured. He was being held in the jail while awaiting sentencing for an October 2024 guilty verdict in a double homicide during Mardi Gras in 2018. After he was convicted, he pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter.
Massey was in jail pending a trial on charges of domestic abuse involving strangulation, theft of a motor vehicle and a parole violation. This is the fourth time that Massey has escaped from police custody.
Massey’s sister, 31-year-old Daishanae Massey, is one of 14 people who have been arrested for allegedly aiding the escapees either before or after they broke out of the jail.
Groves and Massey each have a $50,000 bounty on their heads from various agencies involved in the manhunt.
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