Last New Orleans jail escapee Derrick Groves caught in Atlanta

Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Derrick Groves was found and captured in Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon, nearly five months after he was among 10 inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail.

Groves, 31, is a convicted murderer who escaped from the New Orleans jail in May but was taken into custody at 1 p.m. EDT on Wednesday following a standoff with local police, Nola.com reported.

He was located at a southwestern Atlanta home, which led to a standoff with police but ended with no injuries reported.

"Groves' escape represented a serious breach of public safety and a historic failure of custodial security," Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said Wednesday in a prepared statement.

"His capture brings long-awaited calm to victims, their families, the witnesses who testified, the assistant district attorneys who prosecuted him and the people of New Orleans who were rightly concerned that a convicted violent offender had escaped so easily and evaded justice for so long," Williams added.

A tip to New Orleans Crimestoppers led to Groves' arrest at the home where he was found hiding in its basement crawlspace, according to WDSU.

"Crimestoppers GNO was very proud to be a member agency working with the task force, which brought Mr. Groves to justice today in Atlanta," the organization said in a prepared statement.

"Tips to our organization assisted with the arrest," Crimestoppers continued. "Our organization assisted with the arrest and our appreciation goes to those individuals who have called, texted and emailed anonymous tips concerning this incident since the escape."

Groves was among 10 inmates who escaped from the Orleans Justice Center during the early morning hours of May 16 after they climbed through a hole made behind a jail toilet, ABC News reported.

The mass escape went unnoticed for several hours before a search began to locate the escapees.

Groves in 2024 was convicted on two counts of second-degree murder for a Mardi Gras Day shooting in 2018 and could be sentenced to life without parole.

He also pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in an unrelated case, according to court records.