By Jessica Payne
The Macon Telegraph
MACON, Ga. — Last year, four inmates escaped the Bibb County jail in Macon. The four men, one of whom was charged with murder, were gone for approximately three hours before officials realized they were missing.
The men took advantage of a damaged window and a cut in the fencing at the jail, and they may have been aided in the escape, authorities said.
Nearly five months since the escape, what have authorities done to address it? Bibb County Sheriff David Davis says significant steps have been taken to address the issue: more than $1 million has been spent making improvements to the jail and training staff. Travaris Freeman, a jailer who had worked for the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office since June 2020, was fired over the incident.
“We have taken several measures to ensure this does not happen again,” Davis said. “Magnetic locks have been updated and added to cell doors, new security camera systems have been added, and the fencing around the jail has been repaired and new security wires have been added for an extra measure of security, among other things.”
Davis said there have also been measures taken with jail personnel.
“Lieutenants have gone through jailer school, all jail protocols have been reinforced, reemphasizing training in policy and inmate movement,” he said. “We are also implementing inmate management, meaning two inmates being moved at a time through the facility at all times, and there will be a captain or lieutenant on facility grounds at all times.”
How the escape happened
In the early hours of Oct. 16, Joey Fournier, 52, Marc Kerry Anderson, 24, Johnifer Dernard Barnwell, 37, and Chavis Demaryo Stokes, 29, escaped through a damaged window in an interview room and a cut in a fence at the Bibb County Detention Center, according to the sheriff’s office.
Authorities said someone driving a blue Dodge Challenger in the parking lot near the fence appeared to aid in their escape.
The men began their breakout in the oldest part of the 43-year-old facility and at a time when fewer than 10 jail personnel were on duty, according to Bibb County Sheriff David Davis.
Fournier was charged with killing his former girlfriend in 2022. He evaded police at the time, fleeing to northwest Georgia before police arrested him.
All inmates were captured and returned to the jail by mid-November.
Sheriff reiterates support for staff
Davis said his number one priority is to improve the conditions of the jail and the safety of staff, inmates and the community.
“I am very proud of how the members of the sheriff’s office came together after the escape to capture the escapees and to address the underlying issues which allowed the jailbreak to happen,” he said. “The sheriff’s office is in a much better place now than before this event happened.”
___
(c)2024 The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Ga.)
Visit The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Ga.) at www.macon.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.