Man killed himself after Georgia officers tried to question him about 4 jail escapees, sheriff says
A Georgia murder suspect has died after shooting himself when officers appeared at an apartment to question him about four inmates who escaped from a central Georgia jail more than a week ago, authorities said.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said Christian Demond Williams, 23, died Tuesday morning at a Macon hospital. The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force was following up on leads and went to a Macon apartment on Monday after receiving tips regarding the four inmates who escaped on Oct. 16.
Members of the task force were met by gunfire after they had knocked on the door of the apartment, according to Bibb County Sheriff David Davis. The task force then called for the assistance of the Bibb County Sheriff‘s Office SWAT Team. Davis added that no officers fired their guns.
When the SWAT team arrived, a woman inside the apartment led them to Williams, who was lying down with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the sheriff's office. Williams was taken to a Macon hospital in critical condition.
Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones said Tuesday that Williams died from a single gunshot wound and he ruled Williams' death a suicide.
Jones added that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is conducting an inquiry into the incident because police officers were involved. The bureau will also perform an autopsy on Williams' body on Wednesday.
"Christian Williams's involvement in the incident of the four escaped inmates is currently under investigation," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Tennessee officer shooting:Search continues for Nashville police chief's son after shooting of two officers
Who was Christian Demond Williams?
Williams was reported to have been kidnapped on March 6, hours before he was supposed to be tried in court for a murder charge in connection to the 2021 shooting death of a man at a Macon convenience store.
Security camera footage showed Williams being attacked by two men on the front porch of his home. The battery on Williams’ electronic ankle monitor had failed and the bail bonding company did not notify officials, Davis told WMAZ-TV in June.
“It is sort of suspicious that a person gets kidnapped under surveillance cameras on the day that they were supposed to appear in court,” Davis said earlier.
Authorities also arrested Mykia Mynesha Williams, the woman who was at the apartment on Monday, and charged her with aiding an escape, according to jail records. She remained jailed Tuesday without bail.
Police also arrest man believed to be connected to jailbreak
On Tuesday, Bibb County deputies said Jakaylen Billy Ray Williams was arrested and charged with auto theft and aiding the escape. Police believe the man is connected to the Oct. 16 jailbreak and claim that he stole a Dodge Challenger from a rental car agency on Oct. 9.
Security footage from the Bibb County Detention Center showed a blue Dodge Challenger that was outside the jail earlier in the night and appeared to show an individual tampering with the fence, Davis said. The person then brought "some items into the enclosed area of the fence," Davis said, adding that investigators believe the items were used to help the inmates escape.
Deputies found the Challenger abandoned Friday in the parking lot of a Macon supermarket and Jakaylen Williams' apartment was listed two blocks away.
Jakaylen Williams is also charged with violating probation, criminal trespass, battery and aggravated assault. But investigators said some of the charges are from a March assault against a woman.
It's unclear whether Jakaylen Williams, Mykia Williams and Christian Williams are related.
'They could be anywhere':4 men, including murder suspect, escape central Georgia jail
Escapees accused of homicide, gang membership
Authorities identified the four escaped inmates as Joey Fournier, Marc Kerry Anderson, Johnifer Dernard Barnwell, and Chavis Demaryo Stokes. The men had escaped through a window and ran out of a break in the fence at the jail.
Fournier, 52, was in jail pending trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. An indictment accused him of strangling Cynthia Lynn Berry with a shoelace on Feb. 20, 2022. He's pleaded not guilty.
Anderson, 25, had been held in jail since 2020 awaiting trial on charges of aggravated assault for allegedly firing a gun into a car and two homes, according to Bibb County Superior Court records.
Barnwell, 37, was serving a 15-year concurrent sentence for aggravated assault and violating Georgia's Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. He was facing additional charges related to a separate drug case.
Stokes, 29, was awaiting trial on charges of possession of a firearm and drug trafficking. He also was accused of supplying illicit items to inmates in February 2020; misdemeanor theft and obstruction charges in July 2021; and this past year, of obstruction, misdemeanor battery and giving or having prohibited items by inmates, according to court records.
Anderson, Fournier and Stokes face a felony charge for escaping from the prison and state warrants are issued for their arrest, according to newly issued FBI wanted posters. Barnwell faces unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and escape, both felonies. A federal warrant was issued for Barnwell's arrest, according to the FBI's wanted poster.
A total of $73,000 is being offered as a reward for information leading to the inmates.
Contributing: The Associated Press