A man still at large after escaping from a New Orleans jail last month appears to have taken to social media to plead his case to the public.
In a video that quickly went viral, the man identifying himself as Antoine Massey – one of 10 prisoners who fled from the Orleans Justice center (OJC) on 16 May – said he was wrongfully accused and held up papers he said corroborate his innocence.
“They say that I broke out,” he said, speaking directly to the camera. “I didn’t break out. I was let out.”
Authorities have been searching the New Orleans area for more than two weeks since the men squeezed through a hole behind a toilet in the jail. Graffiti left on the wall included the message “To Easy LoL” with an arrow pointing to the gap.
Eight of the 10 have been apprehended, along with more than a dozen people – many of them friends and family – arrested on allegations of helping the group with food, cash, transportation or shelter, according to court documents. Along with Massey, Derrick Groves has not yet been found.
Officials have not yet verified that the person in the footage was Massey. But the man in the video, clad in a sweatsuit and sitting on a stool in a minimally furnished kitchen, has the facial tattoos that match Massey’s.
He called for an investigation into his conviction and asked for help from public figures, including Donald Trump and Meek Mill. Holding up a wrinkled paper to the camera, he claimed he had a signed affidavit from a woman he is accused of assaulting saying the allegations are false.
“If you was an innocent person,” he said, “why would you stay in jail?”
Massey was being held on the theft of a vehicle and for a domestic abuse charge involving strangulation when he escaped. He has a history of both domestic violence charges and escaping from incarceration.
At the age of 15 he broke out of a juvenile detention center with five others using metal shackles to break a window and was on the run for weeks, CNN reported. Massey slipped under a fence in the exercise yard of a detention center at age 27.
Court records show there was a third attempt, along with several cases alleging he “tampered and/or removed the court-ordered GPS monitor”.
Now 32, Massey appears to be claiming this attempt to get out is justified.
Meanwhile, the FBI, US Marshals Service, state and local police, and the Orleans parish sheriff’s office have continued the search. As of Monday, the reward was set for $50,000 if information leads to the arrest of Groves or Massey.
In a statement, the Orleans parish sheriff’s office said they were aware of the video and encouraged Massey to turn himself in.
“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,” the statement 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 Associated Press contributed reporting
