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Two of four Mississippi jail escapees accounted for: Officials

  • One suspect, Jerry Raynes, was apprehended in Texas
  • Dylan Arrington, 22, died inside a home, setting it ablaze
  • 'Be extra cautious, be vigilant' as police search for the remaining men

 

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(NewsNation) — Two of the four men who escaped from a Mississippi jail have been accounted for, authorities said Thursday.

One of the escapees, Jerry Raynes, is in custody in Spring Valley, Texas.

Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said on Twitter that Raynes appeared at court in Harris County, Texas, Thursday, where he waived extradition.

“Security measurements are currently underway to return him to MS as early as next week,” Jones said.

Another of the four men died after barricading himself in a home and setting it on fire during an armed standoff with deputies, authorities said Wednesday.

Dylan Arrington, 22, perished inside the home, setting it ablaze after shooting a deputy in the leg, Leake County Sheriff Randy Atkinson told The Associated Press.

Plumes of smoke emanated from the charred remains of the home in Conway, hours after Arrington’s body was recovered. 

The injured deputy was transported to a hospital where he was stabilized.

Arrington, Raynes, and two other prisoners; Casey Grayson and Corey Harrison, escaped Saturday night from the Raymond Detention Center, a 600-bed facility 15 miles west of downtown Jackson. It is mainly a pre-trial holding facility.

“The situation continued for roughly two hours before it was resolved,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. No further explanation of what that meant was given.

Arrington is suspected in the shooting death of 61-year-old Anthony Watts.

Along with his suspected role in the killing of Watts, Arrington had been previously charged with auto theft, and is a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Grayson is charged with grand larceny, the possession and sale of a controlled substance and is a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, while Harrison was charged with receiving stolen property. His arrest came just over two weeks ago.

Raynes, who is charged with auto theft and business burglary, also has charges from a previous jail escape.

Multiple agencies are searching parts of the state for Grayson and Harrison, the two men who remain at large. Among them are the U.S. Marshals and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

“Be extra cautious, be vigilant of anything that appears to be suspicious,” Jones said Tuesday. “No information at this point is too small to provide to law enforcement.”

Retired detective Jerry Lyons told NewsNation that investigators will be paying special attention to the inmates’ families, friends and significant others.

“These people are going to need a support system for food, clothes, money, shelter,” he said. “That’s going to come from that support system.”

The Associated Press reports that Raymond Detention Center, where the inmates escaped, has faced federal scrutiny. A federal judge in July ordered a rare takeover of the jail after he said deficiencies in supervision and staffing led to “a stunning array of assaults, as well as deaths.”

Seven people died last year while detained at the jail, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves said. He also wrote in his ruling that cell doors did not lock, and there was a lack of lighting in cells, making detainees’ lives miserable.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Crime

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