ATLANTA (CNN) — A pair of inmates from Georgia suspected of killing two corrections officers during their escape from a prisoner bus this week have been captured in Tennessee after a chase that involved gunfire, authorities said.
Donnie Russell Rowe, 43, and Ricky Dubose, 24, were taken into custody Thursday (June 15) after two residents held them at gunpoint whey they discovered the men were trying to steal a car from a central Tennessee home, Lt. Bill Miller from the Tennessee Highway Patrol said late Friday (June 16).
The capture put an end to a multi-state manhunt that lasted nearly 60 hours after the inmates escaped Tuesday (June 13) morning in central Georgia.
While they were on the run, the pair allegedly stole five vehicles, robbed two homes, tied up and terrorized an elderly couple; and led police on a chase where speeds reached 100 mph, officials said.
Dubose and Rowe stole a truck in Madison, Georgia, and ditched it about 260 miles away in Moore County, Tennessee, on Thursday (June 15), Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said.
There the two apparently stole a car, which they drove to a house in Bedford County. They then robbed an elderly couple and stole another vehicle.
When law enforcement officers saw that stolen vehicle, a 10-mile chase ensued on Interstate 24 south of Nashville until the escapees crashed and ran from the wreck.
Several SUVs were hit and the escapees opened fire on deputies, but no one was injured, officials said.
Dubose and Rowe ran from the vehicle into some woods but they were discovered by a homeowner who called his neighbor and they each grabbed a gun. The fugitives lost their weapons in the crash and surrendered, authorities said.
In Georgia, Sills told reporters no one was wounded and the inmates gave up after about 15 minutes in the trees beside Interstate 24.
“I’m happy. I’m elated, but I’m still tremendously sad about these (deceased) officers,” Sills said about the capture.
