One escaped Bibb County jail inmate arrested in Montezuma by U.S. Marshals

U.S. Marshals arrested Chavis Stokes, one of the four inmates who escaped from the Bibb County jail last week, just after 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon in Montezuma, according to a member of the U.S. Marshal’s Southeast Regional Task Force.

Authorities arrested Stokes, 29, at about 2:10 p.m. in Montezuma about 50 miles southwest of Macon, according to Chris Wright, the senior inspector for the task force. Wright could not disclose the exact location of the arrest. Bibb sheriff’s officials later said the arrest happened at a house in Montezuma.

None of the other three escaped inmates, Joey Fournier, 52, Marc Kerry Anderson, 24 and Johnifer Dernard Barnwell, 37, were arrested as of Thursday afternoon.

Montezuma is in Macon County.

The search continues

The search for the other three inmates continues more than a week after they escaped from the Bibb County jail at about 3 a.m. the morning of Oct. 16. The inmates pried open a window and went through a fence with the help of someone driving a blue Dodge Challenger, according to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.

The FBI, U.S. Marshal’s Service and Bibb sheriff’s office combined Friday to offer up to $73,000 as a reward for information leading to the inmates.

Deputies found the Dodge Challenger that was caught on video before the jailbreak Oct. 16 in an east Macon Kroger Parking lot Friday night, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies charged a Macon man named Jakaylen Willams this week with helping the inmates escape.

The sheriff’s office also confronted Christian Demond Williams, 23, Monday morning at a Vineville apartment after receiving a tip that someone at the apartment could help locate the inmates.

U.S. Marshals retreated from the apartment when they heard a gunshot. When they returned, a woman opened the door and told officers that Williams had shot himself. Williams later died in a Macon hospital from the gunshot wound.

Williams had previously been allegedly kidnapped in March the day before he was due to appear in court for a murder charge, Telegraph archives show. Both sheriff Davis and District Attorney Anita Howard were dubious of the kidnapping when it happened.

Davis said Monday that the sheriff’s office believed Williams could be connected to some of the escaped inmates.

This is a developing story. The Telegraph will add more details as they become available.