MACON, Ga. — More details are coming out about the escape earlier this week at the Bibb County jail, including the staffing during the shift and how the inmates may have escaped.
13WMAZ spoke to several anonymous sources with connections to the jail, including former deputies. They provided photos and information on the jailbreak and what may have happened on Monday morning.
According to sources, a blue Dodge Challenger brought tools to the jail grounds, including power tools that the inmates used to chisel through the window to create enough space for them to escape.
People who saw the damage to the windows say it may have taken more than one night to chisel through.
At this time, 13WMAZ is working to confirm reports on how the inmates received the tools.
One source said that a drone was used to bring the chisel over, and another says that intruders cut through two fences, inmates lowered bedsheets and raised the tools to the second floor.
Multiple sources told us they are not sure how no one inside the jail heard this going on.
"There should've been somebody that heard some tampering, and there's some indications that somebody might have," Sheriff David Davis said during his news conference on Monday.
The photos sent to 13WMAZ showing the damage from the inside and out appear to be legitimate based on our own observation of the jail exterior.
The same markings in the photo of the window from the anonymous source can be seen in the photo taken on Wednesday by reporters from 13WMAZ.
The spots cut in the fence look like a path to the damaged window at the jail.
Those spots in the fence are within 15 to 20 yards of the damage from Monday, Sept. 25, when a man wearing all black with a black mask covering his face entered the prison yard using bolt cutters to smuggle in contraband.
On Monday, Sheriff Davis said there were less than 10 people working in the jail at the time of the escape.
Our source described the staffing at the jail on late Sunday and early Monday in the hours leading up to the escape, giving perhaps a more accurate picture.
They say three officers were on duty in the cell blocks, plus a corporal working in master control who was on "light duty" and could not leave their post.
This left two people working in the new part of the jail and one working in the old part of the jail where the escape occurred. Our source says the "F Wing" has no one watching.
Reportedly, an officer heard the sounds of what may have been the chiseling but did not have a second officer to go in and look. They were told to log what they heard instead.
The source added that in order to do a routine headcount, there must be two deputies in a cellblock.
There are seven cellblocks, meaning with three officers in the jail, there were four entire cell blocks left with no officer supervision for the entire 12-hour shift.
The Bibb County Sheriff's Office did confirm that the photos that 13WMAZ obtained are legitimate and show the scene of the escape.
We also reached out to Sheriff David Davis to confirm further details, such as the staffing early Monday. So far, he has not responded.
The four inmates are still free. This includes 52-year-year-old Joey Fournier, who's accused of killing his girlfriend in 2022; 25-year-old Marc K. Anderson, who is charged with three aggravated assaults; 27-year-old Johnifer Barnwell, who was convicted of federal drug charges this summer and faces a life sentence and 29-year-old Chavis Stokes, a suspected drug dealer facing more than two dozen charges.
13WMAZ's Statement on the Use of Anonymous Sources
We rarely use anonymous sources. We like to tell you where our information is coming from and show our sources on camera.
Viewers tell us that builds trust and credibility in our stories. We’ll make exceptions only when we have confidence in our sources and have made every effort to confirm that information on our own.
In this case, we got details about the escape from a person connected to the jail. They also sent us photos. We checked that information with several other law enforcement sources. They told us the description of the jail seemed credible. We visited the jail to check those photos against what we could see for ourselves.
We gave Sheriff David Davis and his spokesperson a chance to confirm or deny the information that we are reporting. Another reason we are making this exception is the importance of this story.
The escape by four prisoners from the jail and one of them an accused killer, is literally a matter of life and death. We hope this information will help explain how this happened and prevent more cases like it.