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Escaped Georgia inmates captured in Tennessee

By Eric DuVall and Doug G. Ware
Escaped prison inmates Ricky Dubose (L) and Donnie Russell Rowe were re-captured in Tennessee Thursday evening, authorities said. The pair had been wanted since Tuesday. Image courtesy Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Escaped prison inmates Ricky Dubose (L) and Donnie Russell Rowe were re-captured in Tennessee Thursday evening, authorities said. The pair had been wanted since Tuesday. Image courtesy Georgia Bureau of Investigation

June 15 (UPI) -- A pair of escaped inmates from a Georgia prison accused of killing two guards have been captured in Tennessee, authorities said late Thursday.

Authorities had been engaged in a massive manhunt for the fugitives, who escaped Tuesday during a prison transport.

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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday evening that Donnie Russell Rowe and Ricky Dubose were captured. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said they were caught following a car chase in Tennessee.

It wasn't immediately clear exactly where in Tennessee Dubose and Rowe were found, or whether they were traveling together. A reward of $130,000 had been offered for information leading to their re-arrests.

The inmates were among a group of 33 from Baldwin State Prison that was being driven in a van Tuesday by two officers. They were supposed to be separated by a metal gate in the vehicle, but Rowe and Dubose were able to get inside the cab. Once inside, they overpowered the officers, wrested away a gun and shot both men dead, police said. Investigators said the incident was captured on video.

Immediately after killing the officers, officials said the men carjacked a vehicle and sped away. The other 31 inmates were left handcuffed inside the transport with the engine running.

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Since Tuesday, law enforcement officials said they'd tracked Dubose and Rowe to a rural home, which they broke into while the owners were away. Inside, they shed their prison clothes for street clothes and stole food and a white Ford pickup. They were also seen entering a Family Dollar store on Tuesday near the ransacked home.

Dubose, 24, had been serving a 20-year sentence for armed robbery and assault. Officials said he's a member of the Aryan prison gang known as the Ghostface Gangsters.

Rowe, 43, was serving a life sentence for armed robbery and a weapons possession in 2001.

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