June 15 (UPI) — The reward for information leading to the capture of two escaped Georgia prison inmates accused of killing two corrections officers nearly quadrupled as a statewide manhunt entered its third day.
Officials with the FBI and Georgia Bureau of Investigations said a total of $115,000 was now being offered as a reward for information on the whereabouts of the inmates, Donnie Russell Rowe and Ricky Dubose.
The men escaped Tuesday morning during a prison transport. Dubose and Rowe were among a group of 33 inmates from Baldwin State Prison being driven in a van by Sgt. Christopher Monica and Sgt. Curtis Billue.
The inmates were supposed to be separated from the officers by a metal gate, but Rowe and Dubose were able to get inside the cab of the truck. Once inside, they overpowered the two officers, wrestling away a gun and fatally shooting both men, police said. Investigators said the incident was captured on video.
Immediately after killing the officers, the men car-jacked a motorist’s Honda Civic and sped away. The other 31 inmates were left handcuffed inside the transport with the engine running.
Since Tuesday, law enforcement officials said they tracked Dubose and Rowe to a rural home, which they broke into while the owners were away. Inside, they shed their prison clothes for street clothes, stole food and a white 2008 Ford F-250 pickup, which officials believe they may still be driving. They were also seen entering a Family Dollar store on Tuesday near the ransacked home.
Dubose, 24, is 6 feet 1 inch tall and 140 pounds with blue eyes and brown hair. He was serving a 20-year sentence for armed robbery and assault. He is a member of the Aryan prison gang known as the Ghostface Gangsters.
Elbert sheriff’s Capt. Darren Scarborough said Dubose was well known by local law enforcement for his long criminal history. He was convicted of stealing $100 from an acquaintance, then shooting him in the hand.
“He’s very dangerous and he has nothing to lose and I think he will go down in a blaze of glory,” Scarborough said of Dubose. “And that’s sad because some officer will have to answer for shooting him.”
Rowe, 43, is 6 feet 1 inch tall and 181 pounds with blue eyes and brown hair. He was serving a life sentence after felony convictions for armed robbery and weapons possession in 2001.
Investigators cautioned the public not to approach the men if they are spotted because they are likely still armed.
