The bond for Sterling Williams, a New Orleans jail plumber accused of aiding the May 16 escape of 10 inmates, has been significantly reduced. Judge Leon Roche lowered Williams’ bond from $1.1 million to $86,000.
Despite the reduction, the judge found probable cause for all 11 charges the 33-year-old Williams faces. These charges include one count of malfeasance in office and 10 counts of being a principal to escape, according to NOLA.
Williams is accused of helping the inmates flee the parish lockup through a hole located behind a removed toilet in a first-floor cell. Following their exit, the men reportedly scaled a fence before running across Interstate 10 to gain their freedom.
His lawyer, Michael Kennedy, asked the court to lower Williams’ $1.1 million bond, which was set in July. Kennedy called the amount “out of bounds” and unfair for the charges Williams faces.
Kennedy argued there isn’t enough solid evidence to prove Williams knew the full details of the escape plan. He pointed out that jail security videos only show Williams talking to two of the ten escapees, Antoine Massey and Derrick Groves, before the breakout.
The lawyer claims the video proof doesn’t show that Williams was fully aware of the entire escape plan or that all ten inmates intended to run.
The bond reduction for Williams was opposed by prosecutors from Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office, who are handling the case against the escaped inmates. Despite this opposition, Williams’ family was working to raise the necessary funds for his release on December 2, according to Kennedy.
The seriousness of the situation is highlighted by the escapees’ criminal histories. Derrick Groves, one of the two Williams was filmed speaking with, was a very dangerous, high-profile escapee serving two life sentences for murder. Groves was the last and most difficult fugitive to catch, finally being arrested in Atlanta in October. The others were caught or surrendered earlier.
In a separate development, Massey told investigators that Williams was not involved in the escape. Furthermore, Massey alleged that both Sheriff Susan Hutson and District Attorney Jason Williams had separately urged him to break out of jail, suggesting two competing conspiracies were at play.
Williams was arrested on suspicion of helping ten inmates escape from the Orleans Parish Justice Center by cutting off the water, which allowed them to remove the toilet from the wall, according to NBC News.
The sheriff’s office later released a photograph showing the hole behind where the toilet had been. Visible written above the opening were phrases like “To Easy Lol” and “We Innocent.”
At the time, Williams identified Antoine Massey as the inmate who he claimed had threatened him in an arrest warrant affidavit.
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“Williams admitted to agents that one of the escapees advised him to turn the water off in the cell where the inmates escaped from,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a news release. “Instead of reporting the inmate, Williams turned the water off as directed, allowing the inmates to carry out their scheme to successfully escape.”
The affidavit states that Williams admitted to authorities that he turned off the water from the outside pipe walk area. He also claimed that a fellow inmate tried to steal his phone and “attempted to get Williams to bring a book with cash app information to his cousin in the next pod over.”
The plan would have been unsuccessful without Williams’ assistance. According to the affidavit, removing the toilet without the water being shut off could have flooded the cell, which would have drawn “attention to their actions.”
A status conference regarding the case has been set for December 18.
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