Four inmates escaped from a Mississippi jail over the weekend, including one who then allegedly killed a good Samaritan before finding death himself during a confrontation with law enforcement.
Jail supervisors at the troubled Raymond Detention Center learned about the escape during a headcount on Sunday noon, Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said during a Monday press conference. The suspects on the run were identified as Dylan Arrington, 22, Casey Grayson, 24, Corey Harrison, 22, and Jerry Raynes, 51.
Police said Arrington fatally shot 61-year-old pastor Anthony Watts on Monday night after the victim pulled over to help the fugitive, who had wrecked a motorcycle he had previously stolen. Arrington then allegedly stole Watts’ Dodge Ram and fled the scene.
“Based on information gathered from investigators, the suspect ... fit the description of 22-year-old Dylan Arrington,” Jackson Police Chief James E. Davis said.
On Wednesday morning, authorities in Leake County said in a statement that a suspect believed to be Arrington barricaded inside a home on Conway Road. The house became engulfed in flames and the man fired shots from inside the residence, striking a law enforcement official in the leg.
The suspect is believed dead, according to WJTV, while the officer is recovering from his injuries. It is unclear whether Arrington died in the fire or was killed by police.
Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations and the Mississippi Highway Patrol, responded to the standoff.
The US Marshalls are assisting in the search for the four inmates in several parts of the state.
The Leake County Sheriff’s Office had previously asked residents to “please keep your doors locked and have no keys or weapons in your vehicles” following reports that the Arrington was spotted in the area.
The inmates escaped through breaches in a cell and the roof. Police said they might have camped out on the roof before fleeing the facility and going their separate ways.
One of the fugitives reportedly stole a Hinds County Public Works vehicle that was later recovered in a suburb of Houston, Texas. Only one of the prisoners is believed to have fled to Texas.
Investigators also believe a stolen Chevy Silverado is connected to the escape. The four escapees were in jail for various felony charges, most involving theft and burglary. Arrington had charges of auto theft and illegal possession of a firearm.
Last summer, deficiencies in supervision and staffing, and “a stunning array of assaults, as well as deaths” prompted a judge to order a takeover of the detention centre, according to the Associated Press.
Seven people died last year while detained at the jail, according to US District Judge Carlton Reeves said. Judge Reeves wrote in his ruling that cell doors did not lock and a lack of lighting in cells made life “miserable for the detainees who live there and prevents guards from adequately surveilling detainees.”
He also said guards sometimes slept instead of monitoring the cameras in the control room.
But before an appointed receiver was scheduled to assume control over the jail this year, a court of appeals halted the lower court’s order until it ruled on the county’s motion for reconsideration.
