NEW ORLEANS (CN) - At least a dozen law enforcement agencies continued searching Monday for seven of the 10 men police say escaped from a New Orleans jail early Friday, while officials questioned how they could flee through a hole in a wall behind a toilet and then go unreported for hours.

Authorities doubled the reward for information leading to their capture to $20,000 and aired frustration over what many say reflects a broken system.

"This massive jailbreak - which my statistics tell me could be the largest jailbreak in the history of the state - should never have happened," Governor Jeff Landry said at a news conference Sunday evening. "The public deserves to know who, what and how this happened."

A photograph shared with the media showed the opening behind a toilet in a cell where the men escaped. Above the hole were handwritten messages, including "To Easy LoL" with an arrow pointing at the hole.

Police apprehended two of the men who escaped from the downtown Orleans Justice Center, located about 2 miles from the French Quarter, early Friday, and a third man later that day.

The escapees range in age from 19 to 42 and are charged with crimes from aggravated assault to domestic battery; four face murder charges. Landry said nine of the men had long been awaiting trial, some for years, at the Orleans Parish Detention Center before they escaped.

"I'm asking the DA to explain to us and to the public why these cases are not progressing," Landry said.

Landry also said four of the prisoners had been charged while in jail, but those charges were later refused by the district attorney. He blasted issues in what he called a lax and dysfunctional criminal justice system.

"Prosecutors who dismiss cases and release violent criminals must be addressed," Landry said.

Kendell Myles, the first inmate officers found Friday lying under a car after a chase through the French Quarter, had previously escaped twice from juvenile detention centers. Myles had been charged in jail with battery on a correctional officer, along with Lenton Vanburen, who is still missing.

Vanburen was also charged in jail of possession of contraband, along with two other escapees - Robert Moody, the second man captured Friday thanks to a Crimestoppers tip, and Jermaine Donald, who is still on the run. All of those charges were subsequently dropped, Landry said.

Dkenan Dennis was found later, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said on X.

"Judges with cases of clear evidence of guilt but resulting in acquittals should be scrutinized," Landry said. "As I mentioned, nine of these escapees were sitting in jail waiting to go to trial. Had they gone to trial, had they been convicted, had they been sentenced, they would most likely not be in Orleans Parish jail but in our custody in one of the state penitentiaries."

Landry called for the Department of Corrections to conduct an audit of the jail by the end of the week.

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said someone inside the jail likely helped the prisoners get a tool to cut a bar protecting the plumbing behind the toilet. She also blamed faulty locks, saying she had asked for money to fix security issues as recently as last week, and low staffing.

"It's almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help," Hutson said of the jail, where 1,400 people are held. A report last year warned the number of prisoners had exceeded the 1,250 person cap set in 2019 by the City Council.

Surveillance footage from the facility showed the escapees, some dressed in orange and others in white, running out of the detention center in the early hours Friday morning. They threw blankets over a fence to keep from being cut by barbed wire. Some could then be seen racing across the nearby interstate and into a neighborhood.

Officials from the sheriff's office say no deputy was at the pod where the fugitives had been held. There was a civilian technician there to observe, but she had stepped away to get food.

The escapees opened a door to enter the cell with the hole around 1 a.m. The missing prisoners went unnoticed for hours, until a routine morning headcount at 8:30 a.m., more than seven hours later.

While he criticized how the criminal justice system functions overall, Landry praised state police.  

"Our law enforcement officers around this state and in this city are doing an unbelievable job, and they are making their arrests. They are doing their part," Landry said.

FBI Special Agent Jonathan Trapp said Sunday that the FBI is offering a $10,000 reward per inmate captured, up from the initial $5,000 offer; other rewards would boost that amount to $20,000.

Trapp said members of the public are likely helping the men and warned they will face criminal charges.

New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said Friday that although the men are dangerous, the public should not panic.

Source: Courthouse News Service