Early on Monday morning, four prisoners—one of whom is suspected of murder—successfully broke out of the Bibb County Detention Centre in Georgia. According to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, the convicts carried off a daring jailbreak by chopping a fence, smashing through a shattered window, and fleeing in a blue Dodge Challenger that was waiting for them.
The escapees have been identified as: Joey Fournier, 52, who was incarcerated on murder charges. Marc Kerry Anderson, 24, accused of aggravated assault. Johnifer Dernard Barnwell, 37, detained by U.S. marshals. Chavis Demaryo Stokes, 29, facing charges related to the possession of a firearm and drug trafficking
The FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, and other local law enforcement agencies are actively engaged in the manhunt to apprehend the escaped prisoners.
The Bibb County School District placed its 38 schools on a “soft lockdown” in reaction to the jailbreak. This strategy limited outdoor activities throughout the day while allowing classroom education to continue.
Sheriff David Davis of Bibb County stressed the gravity of the issue during a press conference, noting that the escapees may be anywhere. He declared his intention to return them to custody and make sure they were held accountable for their deeds.
“This is something that someone who witnesses it tonight is aware of, and they are probably laughing at the TV set, thinking, ‘They’ll never get us.'” We’ll get hold of them. They’re going back to prison. It’s only a matter of time, according to Sheriff Davis.
To find the fugitives, Bibb County, which is around 85 miles south of Atlanta, has started a large search and rescue effort. Concerns concerning jail security and the steps taken to stop such escapes in the future are brought up by this episode. This daring escape highlights the need for increased security and inmate oversight in correctional facilities as it echoes recent instances of prisoners escaping from confinement. The fact that one of the escapees is being investigated for murder heightens the urgency of finding them. The community’s safety is still the first priority for the authorities, who are still looking into how these prisoners pulled off such a daring escape.