A Louisiana grandmother is in jail for allegedly “assisting” one of the inmates involved in the wild, toilet-hole jail escape that occurred in New Orleans earlier this month, with police alleging she sent money to a fugitive who is reportedly her grandson.
Connie Weeden, 59, of Slidell, is facing a felony charge for allegedly being an accessory after the fact in the escape of Jermaine Donald, who is still at large after breaking out of Orleans Justice Center on May 16 with nine other inmates, four of whom are also on the run, according to a May 22 Louisiana State Police press release.
According to police officials, Weeden was contacting Donald over the phone “before and after the escape,” according to an investigation by state police. According to the local NBC affiliate WDSU, Weeden is Donald’s grandmother.
“Investigators determined that after the escape Weeden provided cash to Donald via a cell phone app,” according to a release from LSP.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Donald and the other inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center, which is run by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, by carving a hole behind a toilet and crawling through it, according to police. The remaining fugitives are Donald, 43; Derrick Groves, 28; Antoine Massey, 33; Leo Tate, 32; and Lenton Vanburen Jr., 27, according to LSP officials.
“As a result of the investigation, Weeden was located in Slidell and arrested,” the May 22 release stated. “She was charged with one felony count of LRS 14:25 – Accessories after the fact and booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center.”
Inmates Corey Boyd, 20, Kendall Myles, 21, Gary Price, 21, Dkenan Dennis, 24, and Robert Moody, 22, have been apprehended after allegedly fleeing.
In the aftermath of the incident, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson suspended multiple staff members and launched an internal investigation into the breakout, saying in a May 20 statement that she accepts “full responsibility” and “accountability” for what happened, while also suspending her re-election campaign.
“We’ve taken immediate action,” Hutson stated. “Still, there is a long road ahead of me to be fully satisfied that the OJC and my deputies have the proper resources to perform their duties to the fullest extent the people of New Orleans deserve.”
