Chaos and ‘bubble gum’: Inside home where escaped inmate captured in Atlanta

ATLANTA — The owner of the home where a convicted murderer was captured months after escaping prison showed the giant mess left behind.

Amid the flipped furniture, boarded up entryways and other damage, dozens of cannabis edibles packages that looked like bubble gum and candy were tossed all over the home.

Two days after a SWAT team captured escaped inmate Derrick Groves, the smell was still strong from the gas canisters used to force him out.

Homeowner Richard McQueen told Channel 2’s Tom Jones that no one has told him who will repair his home.

“You can see what they did,” he said.

Inside look at home where Louisiana escaped inmate captured in Atlanta - digital extra

McQueen took Jones through the home, which looked like a tornado had gone through it. SWAT used a battering ram to knock down the front door, front window and garage door.

He showed the crawlspace where Groves was hiding when a K9 found him.

The homeowner said he had no idea who was living there. His daughter collected the rent checks. The rent from the home was his only source of income, and he believes police should cover repairs for what they damaged.

“I need help getting my house restored,” McQueen said. “I mean, I understand that you have to catch criminals.”

Groves was one of 10 inmates who officers say escaped from a New Orleans prison in May. The nine others were quickly captured.

But Groves, convicted of double murder, managed to avoid capture despite a national manhunt. He told a judge Thursday he will not fight extradition during his first court appearance.

On Wednesday afternoon on Honeysuckle Lane in Southwest Atlanta, neighbors saw SWAT officers using a ram to tear into this home.

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“They busted the garage door. They busted through the window. And they said someone was in the house, a fugitive,” a neighbor told Channel 2.

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