NEW ORLEANS — A man who identified himself as a New Orleans jail escapee released videos on social media while still on the run, leading to a police raid that failed to recapture him, an Associated Press source says.
Authorities were so convinced about the authenticity of the videos that they searched a home a little over 2 miles (3.7 kilometers) from the jail late Monday where they believe the recordings were made by escapee Antoine Massey, according to a senior law enforcement official who spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity. The official said he wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation into the May 16 escape by 10 inmates.
Massey was not at the New Orleans home on the edge of the Fairgrounds and Gentilly neighborhoods, the official said, but authorities did locate clothing they believe he wore during filming.
The owner of the home, Shedrick Burnell, said it was being rented and declined to name the tenant. He told AP by phone that he had never seen or heard of Massey before the jailbreak and the videos circulated online, but he appeared unfazed that a fugitive had likely used his property as a hideout.
''I'm 76, I've seen a helluva lot worse than this,'' said the Louisiana native. ''As long as my tenant is safe, there's nothing I can do.''
When an AP reporter knocked at the home Tuesday afternoon, no one answered.
Next door, a house under construction had been kicked in and the backdoor, gate and windows were open — likely due to the police search, said Tariq Aldahir, an electrician who had been working on that property, adjacent to where Massey had allegedly been hiding.
''It's a little scary -- if he is as dangerous a criminal as they say he is, what is he capable of doing?'' Aldahir said. ''He's desperate -- any human being who is desperate, there's no limit to what they can do.''
