A jail maintenance worker was arrested for allegedly helping a group of 10 men break out of a New Orleans jail last week through a hole in a bathroom wall, the Louisiana Attorney General’s office announced on Tuesday.
The escapees allegedly told Sterling Williams, 33, a maintenance worker with the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, to turn off the water in the cell from which the men escaped.
“Instead of reporting the inmate, Williams turned the water off as directed allowing the inmates to carry out their scheme to successfully escape,” the attorney general’s office said.
Williams said the inmates threatened to “shank” him if he didn’t comply, according to an arrest warrant obtained by NOLA.com.
The 33-year-old allegedly did not offer this information to authorities on his own, but rather under questioning from the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations.
Williams has been charged with malfeasance in office and 10 counts of being principal to an escape.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
