About

New Orleans Escaped Inmates, also known as New Orleans Jailbreak, refers to 10 inmates orchestrating a jailbreak from the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans on May 16th, 2025. The inmates, whose charges include murder and armed robbery, reportedly escaped the jail by removing plumbing, crawling through a hole in the wall, scaling a wired fence and crossing the interstate. Subsequent investigations revealed that the inmates threatened a maintenance worker to get him to turn off the water supply, allowing the inmates to remove a toilet without flooding the cell. As of May 21st, five of the 10 escaped inmates have been detained while five remain at large, prompting discussions and memes about the manhunt online.

History

According to AP News,^[1] on May 16, 2025, at approximately 12:23 a.m., 10 inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans by removing a sink-toilet unit and crawling through a hole in the wall, eventually scaling a barbed wire fence and crossing Interstate 10. The group was outside the jail by 1:01 a.m., but jail staff did not detect the escape until later that morning, giving the fugitives a significant head start.

On May 16th, 2025, News Nation correspondent Brian Entin posted a video of surveillance footage from the Orleans Justice Center to his X^[2] account, showing the 10 inmates running away from jail and crossing the highway. The post gathered over 1 million views and 1,000 likes in five days.

Surveillance video shows New Orleans inmates running away from jail after escape. Then look closely and you see them crossing the highway.
Four are alleged killers.https://t.co/5UzIcdBjgO pic.twitter.com/VJFFNaYCBq

— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) May 17, 2025

Also on May 16th, the official News Nation YouTube^[4] channel posted a video of New Orleans officials giving a press briefing on the inmates escaping from O.J.C., gathering over 16,000 views in five days.

On May 16th, 2025, the X^[3] account @BNODesk tweeted an image of the hole the New Orleans inmates cut into a wall to crawl out of, showing that the escapees scrawled messages such as "To easy," "Suck My Dick O.J.C." and "I'm / We Innocent." The tweet received over 3.1 million views and 12,000 likes in five days.

Developments

On May 16th, 2025, the X^[7] account @FOX8NOLA posted a photo of Robert Moody, one of the escaped inmates, being arrested in New Orleans. Moody was charged with attempted second-degree battery and obstruction. The tweet received over 8.3 million views and 3,200 likes in five days.

On May 17th, the X^[8] account @FOX8NOLA posted a photo of officials arresting Dkenan Dennis, who was originally arrested on charges of armed robbery with a firearm. The tweet received over 147,000 views and 12,000 likes in four days.

On May 19th, 2025, the X^[9] account @LAStatePolice posted a photo of Los Angeles police arresting Gary C. Price, gathering over 2,000 likes in two days. Price was originally charged with attempted first-degree murder, simple assault, criminal damage, domestic violence, battery, and assault with a weapon. The tweet received over 4.1 million views and 2,000 likes in two days.

Also on May 19th, X^[14] user @FearedBuck posted a video of two inmates walking around in the French Quarter of New Orleans, gathering over 15,000 likes in two day.

Two New Orleans inmates were caught on camera walking through the French Quarter just hours after escaping from jail. A $10,000 reward is being offered for each of the seven still on the run pic.twitter.com/SzSVSSQ1kc

— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) May 19, 2025

On May 20th, 2025, AP News^[6] reported that a maintenance worker at the Orleans Justice Center was arrested for allegedly assisting the inmates by turning off the water supply to the toilet, enabling them to remove it without causing a flood that would alert staff. The worker reportedly did so under the threat of violence from the inmates.

Online Reactions

Several internet users reacted to the news that several of the escaped fugitives were caught within days and even hours of their escape.

On May 16th, 2025, X^[10] user @JoeDaActivist quoted the photo of Robert Moody's arrest, writing, "Throwing on bape the same day u escaped is hilarious," in reference to his distinctive BAPE brand pants. The tweet received over 7.7 million views and 76,000 likes in five days.

Also on May 16th, X^[11] user @souljahsunny_ wrote, "Another inmate caught, these mfs ain’t really wanna be free.. I would’ve been on that Midnight Train to Georgia last night 😭😭😭😂😂😂😂😭😭😭😭😂😂😂" in response to the news that an escaped fugitive from the New Orleans jail had been apprehended the same day he escaped. The tweet gathered over 88,000 likes in five days.

That same day, the X^[5] account @CassandraRules posted an image from the New Orleans officials' press conference, highlighting Cpt. Stephanie Minto-Gibson for her distinctive green glasses. The caption on the post read, "The riddler is giving an update on the escaped inmates," gathering over 2,000 likes in five days.

On May 19th, X^[12] user @CreoleCockpit_9 quoted the post showing Gary C. Price's arrest, zooming in on a blurry figure seen in the background alongside text that read, "You can see the 20k in his eyes," joking about the man possibly collecting a reward to turn the fugitive in. The tweet received over 3.8 million views and 60,000 likes in five days.

On May 20th, 2025, TikToker^[13] @TheLuncheonLawyer posted a video talking about the escaped fugitives being caught, gathering over 600,000 views and 80,000 likes in a day.

Search Interest

External References