Williams also raised serious concerns about the facility’s readiness: “It’s unacceptable for this to go unnoticed for nearly nine hours. This is a serious breach.”
The State Attorney General’s office announced the arrest of an Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office employee.
Sterling Williams, 33, a maintenance worker with the sheriff’s office, told investigators he had turned the water off in the cell from which the inmates escaped.
One of the escapees directed Williams to turn the water off inside that cell, threatening to “shank him if he did not,” he told investigators. Instead of reporting the inmate, Williams turned the water off as directed, allowing for the successful escape.
He was placed under arrest and booked into the Orleans Parish Jail. Then he was relocated to a different facility.
The Plaquemines Parish Jail showed Williams under arrest Tuesday morning. He faces 10 counts related to the escapees and one count of malfeasance in office, because he “acted under the order of an inmate,” his arrest warrant states.
