Final of 10 Escapees from Orleans Apprehended in Atlanta Standoff

ATLANTA — The last inmate of 10 who escaped from a prison in New Orleans was caught after a standoff with Atlanta Police Wednesday afternoon, according to WWL and Louisiana State Police.

The U.S. Marshals Service and Atlanta Police also confirmed Derrick Groves was captured.

Atlanta Police Department Deputy Chief Kelley Collier said law enforcement officers with the U.S. Marshals fugitive task force, APD and Clayton County Police were able to arrest the 28-year-old at a home on Honeysuckle Lane.

“He is the tenth of 10 individuals to be taken into custody from the Orleans Parish incident,” Collier said. 

He added the SWAT team was used to help bring him out of the home.

“We deployed a number of canisters of gas to help move him throughout the house, which he moved to the basement of the house,” he described. “Soon after, a Clayton County K-9 was deployed in the crawl space of the location and found him in that.

Groves blew a kiss to the camera as he was placed into a patrol car.

Officials say he will be extradited back to Louisiana for further processing.

In May 2025, Groves and nine other inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center. 

Frank Lempka with the U.S. Marshals Service Southeast Regional Task Force said the Marshals in New Orleans and other departments started a task force for this case and have followed leads since the escape happened in May.

“We can’t say exactly what brought us here, but it was a very thorough investigation, mainly by our New Orleans Marshals, and then they sent us information, which we corroborated, and was able to locate them at this location,” Lempka said.

Louisiana State Police said on Facebook the standoff was “brief” and said agencies, including the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, New Orleans Police Department, Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and others also helped coordinate the effort.

According to Associated Press reporting from earlier in the year, Groves was convicted by a jury last year of killing two people when he opened fire at a family block party with an assault rifle. The incident arose out of a feud between rival drug dealers, according to the AP.

The AP also reported Groves’ mother, Stephanie Groves, shared she had urged him to surrender peacefully. 

“I’m all messed up, I’m just trying to talk to him,” she told the AP after learning about the arrest online.

She told the AP her family was followed and watched by law enforcement since the escape happened. 

“I’m just glad it’s over with,” she said. “Of course, he was going to get caught.”