Almost one year ago, Ricky Dubose, 24, and Donnie Russel Rowe, 43, surrendered to an armed homeowner after leading police on a three-day manhunt.
On Wednesday, June 13, 2018, prosecutors played a recording of Dubose’s police interview where he freely admitted to murdering Georgia Department of Corrections Sgt. Curtis Billue and Sgt. Chris Monica in a “spur of the moment” escape attempt. Dubose’s defense attorneys are currently attempting to suppress the video evidence before the formal trial begins. Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Stephen A. Bradley has announced that he will be seeking the death penalty.
Photo captured moments after #GAEscapedInmates were cuffed. The convicts shot at police, no injuries. Photos via @WKRN pic.twitter.com/Mq8tFNNmDU
— Parker Branton (@ParkerBranton) June 16, 2017
Sergeants Billue and Monica were assigned to the transportation department and were escorting Dubose and Rowe when the convicts took control of the prison transport bus near Putnam County, Georgia. After murdering their guards, Dubose and Rowe fled North to Tennessee where they held an elderly couple hostage in a home invasion.
After stealing clothes and a new vehicle, the convicts continued to flee through rural Tennessee. The elderly couple, who were “extremely traumatized,” managed to free themselves and contact police. Sheriff’s deputies caught up to the convicts along I-24. The fugitives fired multiple gunshots at the law enforcement vehicles. According to the Union Recorder, “the deputies reportedly never returned fire on the suspects because the highway was heavily congested with motorists.” Fortunately no one was injured.
Dubose and Rowe crashed their car into a densely wooded area and fled on foot to a nearby home. While trying to steal a car parked outside, the convicts were startled by an armed homeowner. With the help of a neighbor, the homeowner held the two men at gunpoint until police arrived a few minutes later, a fact that was overlooked by the majority of media outlets.
Both convicts are currently involved in multiple pre-trial hearings. Both men face the death penalty in two separate trials. As of yesterday, a date for the trial had not yet been determined.