Inmates, 1 nicknamed ‘Hot Rod,’ on the lam after leaving work detail, GA prison officials say

A pair of convicted felons who are known members of a violent street gang walked off an inmate work detail in Thomaston just before noon Wednesday.

The Georgia Department of Corrections issued a statewide lookout for James Rodney Owenby, who also goes by the name “Hot Rod,” and Zachery Glenn Rampley.

The men, both 27 years old, were cutting grass before their disappearance was noticed about 11:45 a.m., the department said in a news release.

Investigators learned Owenby and Rampley “stole a City of Thomaston work truck” and left the area, according to a Facebook post by the Thomaston Police Department about 5 p.m. The truck was described as a white, single-cab 2010 Ford F-150.

Owenby had been in jail since January 2017 on charges including burglary and theft by taking in a 2016 case in Murray County. Before that, he served time for a 2012 burglary in Gordon County, records show.

Rampley, whose face is tattooed, had been in jail since June 2018 on charges including possession of methamphetamine, use of drug-related objects and driving on a suspended license in Bartow County, records show.

In May 2017, Rampley was convicted of possession of a gun by a felon and possession of marijuana. He was convicted of burglary in 2012 and, two years before that, had been convicted of aggravated assault.

Both of the men are known members of the white supremacist gang called Ghostface Gangsters, according to an inmate intelligence profile made public by the department of corrections. The criminal street gang largely is operated from inside Georgia’s prison system, according to the DEA.

Anyone who spots Rampley or Owenby should call 911 immediately.

This story was originally published July 31, 2019 at 4:16 PM.