Two Georgia inmates are on the loose after killing two prison guards during a prisoner transport southeast of Atlanta.
A witness said the two fled from their bus transportation in a dark green Honda, and law enforcement officials are urging civilians not to approach either convict if they’re spotted. They were able to kill the officers after overpowering them, and taking their firearms.
The fugitives reportedly fled the scene with the .40-caliber Glock pistols they used to kill the officers.
Both men were serving time for armed robberies and other crimes. One of the men, 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe, had been in prison since 2002. The other, 24-year-old Ricky Dubose, had been serving time since 2015.
“I can confirm that we are currently looking for two white males in a dark green Honda Civic that have escaped and they are armed,” a spokesperson for the Putnam County Sheriff Department said.
US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said that federal resources were being provided to help track down the fugitives.
“An attack on any American law enforcement officer is an attack on every American law enforcement officer, and the principles we believe in,” Mr Rosenstein said before entering a Senate budget hearing.
The correctional officers were identified as Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue, both of whom worked at Baldwin State Prison. Mr Monica had been with the department since 2009, and Mr Billue began working there in 2007
A press release from the Georgia Department of Corrections says that both men are 6’1”. It also notes that the Georgia prison system is one of the largest in the United States, with nearly 52,000 state prisoners, and 10,500 employees.
A database of prisoners in Georgia shows that Dubose’s maximum possible release date lands in 2034. Rowe was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
