Last of 10 New Orleans jail escapees agrees to return to Louisiana after Atlanta capture

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans jail escapee Derrick Groves, who spent nearly five months on the run before being captured in Georgia, agreed to be returned to Louisiana in a Thursday court appearance.

“I want to return where I’m from,” Groves, a New Orleans native, told a Fulton County magistrate judge during the televised hearing.

Groves, who was caught Wednesday in the basement crawlspace of an Atlanta home, waived his right to an extradition hearing.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said there are “ongoing discussions about the next steps” for bringing Groves back to the state.

A timeline to bring the 28-year-old to the state has not yet been determined, said Sgt. Kate Stegall, a spokesperson with Louisiana State Police. Once returned, Groves will be placed in the state’s maximum security prison in Angola, a Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections spokesperson said.

Groves was already charged with one count of simple escape in June and will be arraigned when he's back in Louisiana, Murrill said. The charges carry a two to five year sentence.

Murrill said Wednesday she is considering upgrading Groves’ charge to aggravated escape — which carries a five to 10 year sentence — given that authorities found a handgun, a shotgun and 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of marijuana inside the Atlanta home where Groves had been hiding.

In May, Groves and nine other New Orleans jail inmates removed a toilet and crawled through a hole, writing “To Easy LoL” on the wall above to commemorate their brazen escape. The other escapees, who were all recaptured within six weeks, were also charged with simple scape.

Groves already faces life imprisonment after being convicted of murder last year for gunning down two people during a family block party on Mardi Gras day in 2018.

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Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.