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Last of New Orleans jail escapees from May is captured in Atlanta

ATLANTA (AP) — A monthslong search for the only Louisiana inmate still on the run after an audacious May jailbreak ended Wednesday when authorities say they found him hiding in a basement crawl space under an Atlanta home, bringing the last of the 10 escapees into custody.

Derrick Groves, 28, was convicted of murder and facing a possible life sentence before the inmates escaped through a hole behind a toilet in a New Orleans jail. He had the most violent criminal record of the escapees and authorities offered a $50,000 reward for tips leading to his recapture.

A SWAT team spent multiple hours searching house for Groves after obtaining a search warrant, Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Fair said.

“They couldn’t find him, they had to deploy gas multiple times into the house and basement,” Fair said. “Based on how long it took a seasoned, well-trained SWAT team to get him out, he had planned to hide for a while.”

Groves was eventually located by a police dog that was sent in to get him, Atlanta police Deputy Chief Kelley Collier said.

The tip leading to his capture came in via New Orleans Crimestoppers, an anonymous tip program, Fair said. Groves was the only person in the house and no one else was arrested.

The garage door of the house could be seen collapsed inward, as officers and vehicles blocked off access to the scene. With a sloping lawn and surrounded by trees, it’s in a neighborhood just west of a former U.S. Army military base that’s now home to Tyler Perry Studios, one of the country’s largest movie production facilities.

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