Man police believe could help locate escaped Macon inmates shoots himself during standoff
A man the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office thinks could help them locate four inmates who escaped from the Bibb County jail last week shot himself after a police encounter Monday morning, sheriff David Davis said.
The shooting happened at the Pines Apartments on Vineville Avenue next to the intersection of Holt Avenue between 7 and 7:30 a.m. Monday.
The sheriff’s office got a tip about a man who potentially had information about the escaped inmates, Davis said at the scene.
Deputies went to the apartment where tipsters said the potential informant was but, when they knocked on the door, someone began shooting from inside the apartment, according to Davis.
Deputies retreated and later returned with a SWAT team to find that the man had shot himself, Davis said. Authorities took the man to a local hospital where he was receiving treatment Monday morning, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office could not release the man’s name, Davis said, until his family was notified of the shooting.
Deputies took another person into custody at the apartment complex Monday morning who could lead to more information on the escaped inmates, Davis said. It was unclear how either the man who shot himself or the other person detained were connected to the inmates.
GBI agents and U.S. Marshals were also at the scene, though Davis said no officers fired any shots during the standoff. He also said nearby schools were alerted as a courtesy but that the shooting was confined to the apartment.
Still on the lam
Davis offered no update on the escapees as the search continues more than a week after four inmates escaped from the Bibb County jail in downtown Macon at about 3 a.m. Oct. 16.
The four inmates, identified as Joey Fournier, 52, Chavis Demaryo Stokes, 29, and Marc Kerry Anderson, 24 and Johnifer Barnwell, 37, escaped after they pried open a window and went through a fence. Someone driving a blue Dodge Challenger helped the four men cut through the fence, according to the 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.
Davis said Monday they found the car thanks to tips from the public and denied some Facebook theories that the car deputies found was different from the one that helped the escaped inmates.
This story was originally published October 23, 2023 at 12:03 PM.