Report: Argument With Girlfriend May Have Led to Derrick Groves’ Capture
Just one day after escaped New Orleans inmate Derrick Groves was captured in Atlanta following a standoff, a new report suggests his own girlfriend may have tipped off authorities, possibly after an argument the morning of his arrest.
While officials have not confirmed the claim, the theory has quickly spread across social media after a neighbor in the southwest Atlanta neighborhood told a local WSB-TV reporter they heard Groves and his alleged girlfriend arguing early Wednesday morning, hours before SWAT converged on the home on Honeysuckle Lane.
A viral comment from @yousaycatladylikeitsabadthing on Instagram referenced the rumor directly, quoting one neighbor as saying the girlfriend “got mad and ratted him out.”
Five-Month Manhunt Ends With Dramatic Arrest
Law enforcement confirmed that Groves was captured after a Crimestoppers tip led U.S. Marshals and Atlanta police to the residence. According to Bryan Fair with the U.S. Marshals Service, officers surrounded the home, deployed gas canisters and flash bangs, and eventually found Groves hiding in a crawl space built into the basement.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said the hiding space was constructed to conceal Groves, and investigators will pursue charges against anyone who helped him evade capture.
Groves was taken into custody without injury and appeared emotional in video footage as he was placed into a police car, speaking through the open window as officers drove him away.
Groves Appears in Court, Waives Extradition
On Thursday morning, Groves appeared in Fulton County magistrate court, where he waived extradition and told the judge, “I want to return where I am from.”
Groves will soon be transported back to Louisiana, where he will join the other nine inmates who escaped the Orleans Parish Justice Center in May, all of whom have since been recaptured.
He was serving a life sentence for second-degree murder after a conviction in 2024 for a Mardi Gras block party shooting that killed two people.
A Family Name Tied to New Orleans History
WDSU reports that Groves is the grandson of Kim Groves, the New Orleans woman whose 1994 murder, ordered by corrupt NOPD officer Len Davis, remains one of the city’s most infamous cases.
His girlfriend, Darriana Burton, a former Orleans Parish jail employee, is already behind bars, accused of helping Groves escape by communicating with him through a jail-issued iPad before the May jailbreak. She faces felony conspiracy charges.
