Derrick Groves Was Caught After 145 Days on the Run — What Did He Do?

As if New Orleans hasn't seen enough, what with the Hurricane Katrina of it all, 2025 has really put The Big Easy through it.

The year started off with a terrorist attack on New Year's Day that resulted in the deaths of 14 people. The suspect, who was fatally shot during a shootout with police, was identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas who subscribed to extreme Islamist views.

In May 2025, 10 prisoners escaped from the Orleans Parish Justice Center when they climbed through a hole in the wall behind a toilet, scaled a fence, and crossed an interstate, according to NPR.

Half of the inmates were caught almost immediately. All but one was captured six weeks later. The tenth was a man named Derrick Groves. He remained on the run until October 2025. What did he do? Here's what we know.

Groves has a history of violence that the killer himself has been quite proud of. Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams told Fox 8 that "his name, his face, is involved in so many cases."

Back in October 2024, Groves was convicted of killing Byron Jackson and Jamar Robinson on Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward.

Williams went on to say that he was able to use social media posts from Groves in which he bragged about killing Jackson and Robinson. Groves also threatened the victims in posts made prior to the murders.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the July killing of Woodrow Smith, as well as a separate killing of a different victim. At the time of his escape, Groves was awaiting sentencing for the manslaughter cases.

A 145-day manhunt for Groves came to an end in Atlanta, Ga., reports CNN. The escapee was captured in Southwest Atlanta following a standoff with Atlanta Police and US Marshals on Oct. 8, Deputy US Marshal Brian Fair said. This was made possible due to dedicated investigative work and a tip called into Crimestoppers Greater New Orleans.

Fair told CNN that it took nearly three hours to locate Groves in the house where he had been hiding. Atlanta's SWAT time ultimately had to deploy gas several times.

Groves was found hiding in a crawlspace. Williams addressed the jailbreak, saying it "represented a serious breach of public safety and a historic failure of custodial security."

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill spoke at a news conference where she described Groves as a "very dangerous individual." She added, "He is going to face jail time for a very, very long time."

It's going to be even more, thanks to the escape. Because weapons and drugs were found on Groves, Murrill is looking into upgrading the charges brought against him. He is scheduled to appear in court in Georgia, where he can choose to waive extradition back to Louisiana.

Williams said that while Groves's capture will bring peace to the victims' families, those who worked to make it possible, and the residents of New Orleans, the fact that he was able to evade authorities for so long is certainly an issue they'll be looking into.

"We will pursue every available legal avenue to ensure that Derrick Groves answers for every crime he has committed and every consequence he has sought to avoid," he said.