Social media videos roil Day 18 of manhunt for New Orleans jail fugitives

Two social media videos that appeared to show New Orleans jail fugitive Antoine Masse y pleading his innocence in a track suit had authorities scrambling Monday, adding a wrinkle to a manhunt that has entered a new phase in its third week, with two of 10 escapees still on the lam, officials said.

“They say that I broke out. I didn’t break out. I was let out,” the man in the videos said. He identified himself as Massey and sported the same facial tattoos.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Fair said Monday that authorities were trying to verify the footage, which purported to show Massey pleading his case over the May 16 jailbreak, as well as over the violent charges that landed him in the Orleans Parish lockup.

Recorded in a sparsely furnished room with a handheld camera, the videos depicted t