Latest on escaped inmates in Georgia who shot 2 guards

EATONTON, Ga. (AP) – The Latest on the killing of two prison guards and escape of two inmates during a bus transport in Georgia (all times local):

4:20 p.m.

A reward of $60,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrests of two escaped Georgia inmates accused of killing two prison guards.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in an email that multiple agencies have contributed to this sum. The agency tweeted that the amount is likely to increase.

Authorities say 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose killed Baldwin State Prison transfer sergeants 42-year-old Christopher Monica and 58-year-old Curtis Billue after overpowering and disarming them on a transport bus Tuesday morning.

___

2:15 p.m.

Georgia’s governor is committing to using every state resource necessary to capture two inmates who authorities say killed two guards and then fled.

Authorities say 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose killed Baldwin State Prison transfer sergeants 42-year-old Christopher Monica and 58-year-old Curtis Billue after overpowering and disarming them on a transport bus Tuesday morning.

Gov. Nathan Deal said the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation with the help of multiple state, local and federal agencies.

Deal said of the officers: “The selflessness and courage of these two brave souls will not be forgotten, nor will their sacrifice and service.”

The governor urged anyone in the surrounding areas to be cautious while the inmates remain at large, saying they are extremely dangerous.

___

1:30 p.m.

Georgia’s top prisons official compared the slaying of two prison guards to losing family members.

Department of Corrections Commissioner Greg Dozier told reporters: “We lost two of our fellow officers, two of our kin. We see our officers as family.”

Authorities say 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose killed Baldwin State Prison officers Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue after overpowering and disarming them on a transport bus Tuesday morning.

Dozier says Monica was 42 and leaves behind a wife, while Billue was 58 and is survived by his father, brother and sister. Dozier said the officers’ families are “dealing with it the best they can at this point.”

Dozier said the inmates were being moved from a state prison in Hancock County to a diagnostic center in Jackson to determine their next placement. He said protocol is to have two armed corrections officers on the bus but that the officers don’t wear bullet-proof vests during transfers.

___

1:25 p.m.

Authorities in Georgia have released another photo showing prominent tattoos on one of the two escaped inmates accused of overpowering and killing two guards on a prison bus.

The photo of 24-year-old Ricky Dubose released by the Elbert County Sheriff’s Office shows tattoos above his eyebrows and across his neck. He appears to have a crown tattooed above his right eyebrow and writing above his left eyebrow and on his neck.

Authorities say Dubose and 43-year-old inmate Donnie Russell Rowe were last seen headed west on state highway 16 after car-jacking a green Honda Civic. They were armed with the officers’ weapons and are considered extremely dangerous.

The Georgia Department of Corrections identified the slain guards as Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue, both officers at Baldwin State Prison.

___

1:05 p.m.

A Georgia sheriff says authorities are “desperately seeking” two inmates who escaped after allegedly killing two guards on a prison bus in Georgia.

Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills told reporters that 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose are armed with the guards’ 9 mm pistols and are considered “dangerous beyond description.”

Sills said the pair was seen fleeing in a car-jacked “grass green,” four-door Honda Civic with the Georgia license plate number RBJ-6601.

Sills said there were 33 inmates on the bus when Rowe and Dubose overpowered and disarmed the guards before fatally shooting them.

The Georgia Department of Corrections identified the slain guards as Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue, both officers at Baldwin State Prison.

Remembering our two Baldwin State Prison officers tragically killed today – Christopher Monica hired 10-16-09 & Curtis Billue hired 7-16-07

— Georgia Corrections (@GA_Corrections) June 13, 2017

11:30 a.m.

Authorities may have no shortage of witnesses to the killing of two guards on a prison bus in Georgia.

The Putnam County Sheriff’s office says about 30 other inmates were on the transport bus when two inmates overpowered the guards, and one of the inmates then fatally shot them.

Authorities aren’t saying which of the escaped inmates did the killing.

Authorities are searching for 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose, who were seen fleeing in a car-jacked “grass green,” four-door Honda Civic.

Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said it happened at about 5:45 a.m. on state Highway 16 between Eatonton and Sparta, southeast of Atlanta.

___

10:50 a.m.

Authorities in Georgia have identified two prison guards they say were killed by inmates who escaped during a bus transport.

The Georgia Department of Corrections identified the guards as Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue, both officers at Baldwin State Prison.

Authorities are searching for two inmates, 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose. They are believed to have fled in a “grass green,” four-door Honda Civic.

Putnam County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Teresa Slade says the escape and slayings happened around 7:23 a.m. Tuesday on Highway 16 in Putnam County as inmates were being transported between facilities

10:15 a.m.

The FBI has released a description of the vehicle in which two Georgia inmates are believed to have fled after authorities say they killed two guards during a bus transport.

The FBI says 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose were seen getting into a “grass green,” four-door 2004 Honda Civic with the Georgia license plate number RBJ-6601.

The Georgia Department of Corrections is urging people not to approach the men and to call 911 if they spot the pair.

Putnam County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Teresa Slade says the getaway happened at about 7:23 a.m. Tuesday, southeast of Atlanta. She says a witness saw the men escape in a dark green Honda.

The names of the slain prison guards weren’t immediately released.

_____

WSB TV reports that one of the escaped inmates was serving life without parole.

_____

9:25 a.m.

Georgia corrections officials have released the names of two inmates being sought by law enforcement after two prison guards were killed during a bus transport.

The Georgia Department of Corrections in a tweet identified the inmates as 43-year-old Donnie Russell Rowe and 24-year-old Ricky Dubose.

The agency is urging people not to approach the men and to call 911 if they spot the pair.

Putnam County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Teresa Slade says the incident occurred about 7:23 a.m. Tuesday, southeast of Atlanta. She says a witness saw the men escape in a dark green Honda.

___

The names of the prison guards weren’t immediately released.

Darren Love
darren.love.71
If your on 16 headed towards Sparta, ya better hit Texas chapel road, then the dirt road to come out in front of long shoals store. The big prison bus is sitting here, four deputies, two ambulances, two firetrucks, two resue trucks and our sheriff just pulled up sideways. I guess I’m about to test my backing skills.

___

9:00 a.m.

Authorities say inmates killed two prison guards during a bus transport in Georgia and are now being sought by law enforcement.

Putnam County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Teresa Slade says authorities are searching for two men after the incident, which occurred about 7:23 a.m. Tuesday, southeast of Atlanta. She says a witness saw the men escape in a dark green Honda.

The names of the prison guards and inmates haven’t been released.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)