A $60,000 reward is being offered by law enforcement authorities for information that leads to the arrests of two Georgia escapee-inmates, Ricky Dubose and Donnie Russell Rowe. The amount is apt to increase, according to spokeswoman Nelly Miles, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
Dubose, 24, and Rowe, 43, stand accused of overpowering, shooting, and killing two guards on a prison bus at approximately 6:45 a.m. this morning. The fugitives are armed and dangerous “beyond description,” said Sheriff Howard Sills, Putnam County, GA. He asks that anyone who sees or comes in contact with them not approach but immediately call 911.
Accused killers escaped prison transport bus
A group of 33 inmates were being transported between prisons on Tuesday morning. The bus was traveling from Hancock County to a diagnostics center in Jackson. Dubose and Rowe allegedly disarmed the guards. One of the pair shot and killed correctional guards Curtis Billue, 58, and Christopher Monica, 42. They hijacked the bus between Sparta and Eatonton.
They carjacked a driver, who pulled up behind the bus that stopped on a rural highway, according to Sills. The vehicle is a 2004 four-door Honda Civic, Georgia license plate number RBJ-6601, described as grass-green, and last seen headed west on Highway 16 toward Eatonton which is southeast of Atlanta.
The fugitive-inmates are armed with the slain guards’ 9mm pistols. GBI, the FBI, and United States Marshals out of the Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force are investigating.
The inmates took and tossed the carjacked driver’s cell phone to get a head start, Sills said. They left 31 inmates locked in the bus.
Madison is the heart of the manhunt
The escapees broke into a home in Madison and stole clothing, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. They fled after they changed out of their prison uniforms and into the stolen clothing. According to Sills, two men fitting the fugitives’ descriptions were seen going into a Family Dollar store also in Madison, which is less than a mile from the home that was burglarized.
Authorities do not a have reason to believe the pair split up, Sills said. Madison is the focus of authorities’ manhunt for the escapees.
Under investigation is how the pair overtook the guards and out of the caged area of the bus where they were riding and how they managed to get through the locks, Sills said. During transfers, guards don’t wear bullet proof vests, according to Greg Dozier, Corrections Commissioner.
Dubose and Rowe are both inmates at Baldwin State prison, according to the Department of Corrections. In 2015, Dubose started a 20-year prison sentence. Since 2002, Rowe has been serving a life sentence without parole.
The Elbert County sheriff’s office released a photo depicting Dubose with a crown tattoo about his right eyebrow.
He also has a tattoo featuring large letters covering the entirety of the front of his neck. He is 6-feet tall and he weights roughly 150 pounds.
Rowe also weighs 150 pounds and is approximately 6-foot-2 tall. He has blue eyes and brown hair.
Governor Nathan Deal, GA, offered condolences to the families of the slain guards and said that neither they nor their service will be forgotten. He also stated that no effort and no state resources will be spared in pursuing the accused killers and bringing them to justice.
