Police arrest a fifth person accused of helping fugitives who escaped from a New Orleans jail

CNN Five people have been arrested on suspicion of helping specific of the escapees who broke out of the Orleans Justice Center last week On Friday New Orleans police publicized the arrest of Casey Smith who is accused of helping two fugitives The -year-old was taken into custody Thursday in the Third District of the city Smith admitted to her role in aiding the escapees conveyance along with Cortnie Harris who was arrested Wednesday in connection with the matter New Orleans police revealed A third suspect Corvanntay Baptiste was arrested earlier this week accused of communicating with escapee Corey Boyd via phone and social media and helping him get food Louisiana State Police disclosed Another arrestee Connie Weeden is accused of sending cash via a cell phone app to escapee Jermaine Donald Weeden was arrested in Slidell about miles northeast of New Orleans Louisiana State Police commented Besides sending cash Weeden was in contact with Donald by phone both before and after the escape state police revealed She faces one felony count of accessory after the fact which carries the possibility of a fine up to and up to five years in prison officials noted And Sterling Williams a maintenance worker at the jail was arrested on suspicion of helping the inmates escape by turning off the water to the cell where the inmates disconnected certain of the plumbing to escape The number of arrestees accused of being accomplices now matches the number of escapees who have been captured Kendell Myles Robert Moody Dkenan Dennis Gary Price and Corey Boyd are back behind bars As of midday Friday five other escapees remain at large Jermaine Donald who was charged with aggravated battery and obscenity Derrick Groves who was charged with battery of a correctional facility employee Antoine Massey who was charged with domestic abuse battery inv strangulation and theft of a motor wagon between and Leo Tate who was charged with possession of a firearm or weapon by a felon simple burglary of an inhabited residence illegal carrying weapon with CDs and theft of a motor motorcycle to among other charges Lenton Vanburen who was charged with battery of a correctional officer and battery of a correctional facility employee Those who choose to assist or conceal these individuals are violating the law and will be held accountable Harboring fugitives threatens the safety of our communities and will not be tolerated the state police commented Williams the maintenance worker is accused of willfully and maliciously assisting with the jailbreak according to an arrest warrant affidavit He faces one count of malfeasance in office and counts of being a principal to simple escape In an interview with Fox News Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill suggested Williams involvement extended beyond the night of the escape We think that it was more than just that night she declared I can t really give all the details of times and dates but we believe this person had multiple days of involvement Administration allege Williams played a key role in the breakout by turning off the water to the toilet near where the inmates escaped Williams revealed inmate Antoine Massey one of the inmates still at large threatened to shank him if he didn t turn off the water according to the affidavit Williams attorney Michael Kennedy mentioned the worker was turning off water to an overflowing toilet after being narrated to do so and he is fully convinced of his client s innocence Jail operations under scrutiny The Louisiana Department of Society Safety and Corrections is deploying at least seasoned auditors to the Orleans Justice Center this week to investigate the escape The audit will concentrate on jail operations such as overall jail measure jail staffing and jail guidelines and procedures Louisiana Department of Citizens Safety and Corrections Secretary Gary Westcott disclosed in a news release Tuesday Louisiana Gov Jeff Landry tasked the department to audit the Orleans Parish Sheriff s Office to ensure they followed conditions necessary to ensure the safe efficient effective and legal operation of a jail facility the release added The last audit of the facility by the department was in according to the agency Landry on Wednesday issued an executive order mandating an immediate and aggressive response across multiple state agencies to address the escape which he called a major breach He called for transparency and accountability in the jail facility and elsewhere in the state Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson who oversees the jail released Tuesday she is suspending her reelection campaign just hours after fielding tough questions from local leaders at a tense city council meeting I am temporarily suspending my re-election campaign I cannot spend a moment putting politics over your necessities Hutson commented in a comment posted on social media Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams and Murrill on Wednesday visited Orleans Justice Center as part of the ongoing review into the escape The district attorney revealed Thursday that the director of the New Orleans Police Department Crime Lab visited the jail to begin a formal forensic processing of the scene which he declared the Orleans Parish Sheriff s Office had not requested Williams formally sought the sheriff s office to voluntarily cooperate with the forensic analysis including by sharing any records of staff fingerprints or DNA for the purpose of inclusion or elimination of their profiles according to a letter Williams sent to the sheriff s office on Thursday that was obtained by CNN A separate letter from Thursday formally requests that the sheriff s office preserve all records related to the jailbreak including surveillance video and electronic communications between staff It is critically critical to get all fugitives back into custody But it is equally crucial that we identify and hold accountable anyone who facilitated or assisted with this historic jailbreak the district attorney wrote CNN reached out to the Orleans Parish Sheriff s Office for comment on the district attorney s requests