HOUSTON – A search is underway for four inmates who escaped from a Jackson, Mississippi detention center and are believed to have later abandoned a stolen getaway truck in the Houston area.
Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said the inmates escaped through the roof of the Raymond Detention Center in Jackson on Saturday night.
“We don’t believe they all escaped at the same time, but rather at different times,” Jones said.
As they fled, investigators said they got behind the wheel of a Hinds County Public Works truck. A caller reported it crashing through a gate and speeding down the highway.
On Sunday afternoon, authorities said the vehicle was found abandoned in Spring Valley Village, west of Houston, but without the escapees. The Sheriff’s Office doesn’t believe all of them traveled to Texas.
The inmates, identified as Dylan Arrington, Casey Grayson, Cory Harrison, and Jerry Raynes, were being held on charges including auto theft, business burglary, grand larceny and receiving stolen property.
According to WLBT-TV, Jackson police have identified Arrington as a suspect in a Monday night carjacking and murder of a local pastor. The station reported the pastor was trying to help the escaped detainee who had wrecked a stolen motorcycle.
Mississippi authorities are also looking for a 2005 red Chevy Silverado, believed to the connected to the escape, after it was stolen from a home near the detention center.
Authorities said the inmates managed to escape after breaching a cell located in Pod B of the jail.
“The doors locked in his particular pod, the pod is secure. The breach that they created was located in a cell,” Jones said.
The jail has reportedly had problems with inmates escaping in recent years due to a lack of manpower. Jones said they are short right now about 50 detention officers.
“But, of course, that’s no excuse. Again, we have accepted accountability regarding what happened. We just want the people to know the responsibilities that we are faced with,” Jones said.
Central Mississippi Crime Stoppers is offering a $2,500 reward for information that may lead to an arrest. Report any information to 601-355-TIPS (8477).