Hunt for Georgia jail inmate escapees leads to violent confrontation with kidnapped murder suspect: Police

The massive manhunt for four Georgia inmate escapees led armed law enforcement teams to the doorstep of a murder suspect, who vanished after he appeared to be kidnapped seven months ago.

U.S. Marshals were “met by gunfire” through a closed apartment door, and backed up by SWAT teams who blasted through the entrance, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said Monday evening.

They found a man – later identified as Christian Williams, 23 – “down from a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” the sheriff’s office said. 

This is the first time anyone has seen Williams since he was reportedly abducted on March 6 just hours before he was due in court for 2021 murder charges.

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Williams was rushed to a hospital, where he’s in critical condition, according to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office. 

He’s suspected of helping Joey Fournier, 52, Chavis Stokes, 29, Marc K. Anderson, 24, and Johnifer Barnwell, 37, break out of Bibbs County Jail last week. 

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The four inmates climbed out of a damaged window in oldest, most deteriorated section of the jail, cut through a fence and made their getaway in a blue Dodge Challenger, according to investigators.

The suspected getaway car was found the parking lot of in a Biomat USA in the city of Macon, about two miles north of the jail, but there’s still no sign of the fugitives, as the search enters week two.

Williams’s involvement in the escape is currently under investigation, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said in an official statement.

His girlfriend, who was in the house as the time, was arrested and charged with felony aiding or permitting another to escape lawful custody or confinement. 

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Meanwhile, Fournier, Stokes, Anderson and Barnwell remain on the run. 

“They could be anywhere,” Bibb County Sheriff said during Friday’s press conference. “But how long they stay together or even if they’re together at this point: We don’t know.”

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Williams was on bond during his reported kidnapping

Prosecutors released surveillance footage of the last time Williams was seen. 

He out of jail on $100,000 bond when he appears to be mugged and dragged off by two men. 

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Williams was wearing an ankle monitor at the time, but the battery reportedly died.

Given the circumstances around his disappearance, Sheriff Davis appeared to be suspicious of the disappearance in a June interview with local news outlet 13WMAZ. 

“That is one of the things that’s been so perplexing about this,” Davis told 13WMAZ. “There has been no phone calls from anyone about this situation. There have been phone calls from people saying, you know, where he might be or third party, fourth party conversations.”

Reward for escaped inmates

Law enforcement put a $73,000 reward on the heads of the four escaped inmates. 

The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office added $20,000 to the combined rewards from the FBI, Macon Regional Crime Stoppers and U.S. Marshals Service to bring the total amount to $73,000, the sheriff’s office said Wednesday.

The escape happened when fewer than 10 employees were working at the jail, which was holding about 800 inmates at the time, according to the sheriff. 

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“Everyone from the Bibb Sheriff’s Office and our law enforcement partners is focused on recapturing these fugitives,” Sheriff Davis said in a statement.

“We ask that anyone having information about these wanted individuals to make the call and help us bring these escapees back to jail.”

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Anyone with information on the possible location(s) of these escapees should call the FBI’s tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), the USMS at 1-877-WANTED2, or the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 478-751-7500. Tips may also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov or USMS Tips App.