Lawyer says worker accused of helping New Orleans jailbreak was unclogging toilet, not aiding escape

NEW ORLEANS AP A worker charged with aiding the New Orleans jailbreak by prisoners shut off water to unclog a toilet not to allow the men to cut the pipe to create an opening for their escape the employee s lawyer recounted The Associated Press on Wednesday Sterling Williams a -year-old maintenance worker at the jail was arrested Tuesday in connection with the jailbreak Administration previously disclosed that Williams had been instructed by one of the inmates to turn off the water to a toilet Behind the toilet was a hole that men slipped through in Friday s escape It would seem obvious to me that filling up the toilet clogging the toilet was a portion of the escapee s plan attorney Michael Kennedy announced They would know that whoever the maintenance person was would have to turn off the water because it was overflowing into the tier Williams communicated law enforcement during an interview that an inmate had threatened to shank him if he did not turn off the water bureaucrats explained Williams had plenty of opportunity to not only analysis the threat but also the escape plan functionaries noted They asserted that because Williams turned the water off the inmates were able to successfully make good on their escape Source