JACKSON, Miss.—A person who escaped from a Mississippi jail final weekend and fled to Texas after allegedly stealing a public works car has been arrested in Houston, authorities introduced Thursday.
Jerry Raynes was apprehended days after he and three different inmates escaped Saturday night time from the Raymond Detention Heart close to Jackson, Mississippi’s capital, Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones mentioned.
Raynes is the second escaped prisoner to be present in a multi-agency hunt. Dylan Arrington died after barricading himself in a central Mississippi house and setting it on hearth throughout an armed standoff with deputies Wednesday. He’s suspected of killing a person and stealing his pickup truck after the escape.
The opposite two, Casey Grayson and Corey Harrison, are nonetheless on the free, and authorities had no updates Thursday on their potential whereabouts.
The U.S. Marshals Service, Harris County Sheriff’s Workplace and Spring Valley Police Division assisted with Raynes’ seize. He shall be held earlier than going through extradition again to Mississippi, Jones mentioned Thursday. Raynes had been incarcerated for auto theft and housebreaking.
Investigators mentioned Raynes fled to Texas after stealing a Hinds County Public Works car, which was discovered Sunday beneath a freeway overpass close to Houston. It was unknown whether or not Raynes traveled alone. Earlier than his arrest, he was noticed on surveillance video at a Hedwig Village service station round 11 a.m. Sunday.
Raynes was taken into custody at a Houston hospital earlier than he might be discharged after in search of therapy for an unspecified medical situation, in accordance with the U.S. Marshalls Service.
“With the relentless efforts of the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Fugitive Job Power and their companions one escapee from Mississippi was arrested,” T. Michael O’Connor, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Texas, mentioned in a information launch. “Moreover, we want to acknowledge the Houston media who coated the story. As a consequence of their protection, we obtained a reputable tip as to the situation of the escapee.”
The 4 males are believed to have escaped from the Raymond Detention Heart by way of breaches in a cell and the roof. Jones mentioned the boys may need camped out on the roof earlier than fleeing and going their separate methods.
Raynes had beforehand escaped from custody, breaking out of a piece heart hooked up to the Raymond Detention Heart in 2021 and fleeing in a stolen pickup, in accordance with WAPT-TV.
In July, U.S. District Choose Carlton Reeves ordered a uncommon takeover of the Raymond jail after he mentioned deficiencies in supervision and staffing led to “a surprising array of assaults, in addition to deaths.” However earlier than the appointed receiver was scheduled to imagine management over the jail Jan. 1, the U.S. fifth Circuit Courtroom of Appeals stayed the decrease court docket’s order till it dominated on the county’s movement for reconsideration.
The issues on the Raymond facility date again years. The U.S. Justice Division sued Hinds County in 2016 after discovering unconstitutional circumstances on the jail, together with violence amongst detainees and by workers towards detainees. It additionally discovered issues with the therapy of juveniles and suicidal detainees. And, it mentioned, there have been cell doorways that may not lock.
The 4 escapees had been in custody for numerous felony expenses, most involving theft.
The person Arrington is suspected of killing was Anthony Watts, a 61-year-old church pastor who was shot and killed Monday round 7 p.m. on Interstate 55 in Jackson after he pulled over to assist a person who matched Arrington’s description. That man shot Watts a number of instances after which stole his Crimson Dodge Ram, police mentioned. Watts died on the scene.
Arrington later broke into a house in Conway, Mississippi, the place he shot a deputy, set the residence on hearth and died.
By Michael Goldberg
