The five-month manhunt for Derrick Groves, the last of 10 inmates who escaped from the Orleans Parish Justice Center in one of Louisiana’s largest jailbreaks, came to a definitive end Oct. 8 when authorities found him hiding in a crawl space beneath a southwest Atlanta home.
Groves, 28, a fugitive serving a life sentence, was captured by a SWAT team after federal authorities spent several hours searching the Honeysuckle Street home. Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Fair confirmed that officers deployed gas multiple times into the house and basement before finally locating the fugitive in a deep basement crawl space.
“Based on how long it took a seasoned, well-trained SWAT team to get him out, he had planned to hide for a while,” Fair said, highlighting the premeditation involved in the evasion. Video released by Atlanta police shows Groves, shirtless and shackled, blowing a kiss and grinning as officers led him to a patrol car. He was booked into the Fulton County Jail as a fugitive from justice and now awaits extradition to Louisiana.
Groves’ capture marks the end of a multi-agency operation that spanned several states since the May 16, 2025, mass breakout. Groves, convicted in 2024 of second-degree murder and manslaughter for a Mardi Gras block party shooting, was the final escapee remaining at large.
The 10 inmates initially escaped the Orleans Parish Justice Center by squeezing through a hole behind a toilet, scaling a barbed-wire fence, and leaving behind a taunting message on a cell wall that read, “To Easy LOL.”
The dramatic escape, which exposed significant security weaknesses at the facility, drew sharp condemnation from state leaders. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry praised the operation on X, saying, “All 10 escapees are back where they belong: BEHIND BARS.”
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams confirmed his office would pursue every legal avenue against Groves.
“Groves’ escape represented a serious breach of public safety and a historic failure of custodial security,” Williams said in a statement. “His capture brings long-awaited calm to victims, their families… and the people of New Orleans who were rightly concerned that a convicted violent offender had escaped so easily.”
Federal investigators previously confirmed that Groves and the other inmates received substantial help. At least 16 people have been charged with assisting the fugitives before or after their escape, including providing them with cash, food, and shelter. Those arrested include Darriana Burton, Groves’ former girlfriend and a former jail employee, and a maintenance worker accused of shutting off water to the cell toilet during the breakout.
The controversy over the delay in alerting the public to the May escape has prompted new state action; Louisiana lawmakers proposed a bill that would make it mandatory for state and parish officials to immediately alert victims and the public following an inmate’s escape.
Groves is expected to face new charges related to the jailbreak upon his return to Louisiana.
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