Four inmates who escaped a Mississippi prison did so through a hold in the ceiling of a cell, with the sheriff saying they most likely "camped out" on the roof before each making their escape from the facility.
Of those four escaped inmates, two were found dead and two were recaptured by police. All four had escaped from the Raymond Detention Center near Jackson, Mississippi, on April 22.
Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said the facility was "completely locked down" after a shift supervisor noticed the head count was inaccurate at around 12.30am on Sunday morning, April 23. He explained that a "breach was later found in one of the cells", and "another breach was later discovered in the roof".
The section of the correctional facility where the four inmates were housed was described as a "classification area" - where inmates were held until they were transferred to other areas throughout the facility if it was deemed necessary.
It's thought the inmates entered the breach in the cell at around 8.30pm on Saturday night, April 22, with Sheriff Jones saying the timeline had been pieced together with "surveillance footage". He was clear to point out that the 8.30pm time of interest was where the inmates "entered the breach - that's not exiting the facility, that's entering the breach."
He went on to say: "We don't believe they all escaped the roof at the same time". The sheriff also pointed to evidence they were able to "locate on the roof" of the facility which pointed to the inmates leaving at different times, and said: "We believe that they possibly camped out on the roof."
Sheriff Jones said: "Police believe that one of them is possibly connected to that cell [where the breach occurred] and possibly two. We're not exactly sure when that breach started, or how long they [worked on] the breach or how long it took to breach."
He also confirmed that one of the escapees, 51-year-old Jerry Raynes, had escaped another facility before being "captured in another state."
It's believed at least one of the inmates fled in a Hinds County Public Works pickup truck, thought to be Raynes. Sheriff Jones described how police had received a call from a member of the public on Saturday evening at around 9.30pm, reporting a Hinds County white pickup truck had crashed through a gate and left travelling down Highway 18 at a high speed.
Raynes was arrested on April 27, with the truck being recovered on Sunday afternoon in Spring Valley, Texas, almost 450 miles from the jail.
The body of 34-year-old Casey Grayson was found in the doorway of a pickup truck on Sunday, April 30 in New Orleans, with investigators finding suspected narcotics and drugs paraphernalia near his body, according to Sheriff Jones. His official cause of death will not be determined until autopsy reports come in, but investigators are not said to have found signs of foul play.
Dylan Arrington died after barricading himself in a central Mississippi home which went up in flames during a two-hour armed standoff with police. Sheriff Jones told reporters: "I've seen a lot of things, but I've never seen a situation where a structure was engulfed in flames and an individual inside the structure started firing shots at law enforcement on the exterior."
He went on to say: "This individual had violence on his mind, and I will say I believe that he did not intend to leave here alive today."
Police were called on Tuesday April 25 by a homeowner in Leake County who reported a man matching Arrington's description hiding in a trailer behind his house. Investigators searched the property but found no sign of him.
The next morning, at around 7am, the homeowner and a Leake County Sheriff's Deputy returned to the property and found Arrington hiding inside the home. He shot at the deputy through the front window, hitting him in the leg.
On Thursday, May 4, the last of the inmates, 22-year-old Corey Harrison, was taken into custody after being found at a home not far from the Raymond Detention Center. He was taken into custody at a Crystal Springs home just 20 miles from the prison.
A female acquaintance was also arrested and is facing charges in connection to the escape and investigation, according to Hinds County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff Jones thanked state, federal and local law enforcement agencies that assisted and confirmed: "All escapees are accounted for."
In July US District Judge Carlton Reeves ordered a rare takeover of the facility after he said deficiencies in supervision and staffing led to "a stunning array of assaults, as well as deaths".
However, before the appointed receiver was scheduled to assume control of the jail on January 1, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the lower court's order until it ruled on the county's motion for reconsideration.
In a press conference, Sheriff Jones did address the fact inmates had breached the facility and wider issues. He said: "It's no secret we are facing challenges at the Raymond Detention Center."
