Third Georgia inmate recaptured, 1 still remains on the loose weeks after escape: Police

Sarah Al-Arshani, USA TODAY
·2 min read

One of four Georgia inmates who escaped last month is still on the loose. This comes after the third was caught on Sunday.

The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office announced that they found 37-year-old Johnifer Dernard Barnwell at a home in Augusta and took him into custody on Sunday morning.

Officials said they found large amounts of "drugs of trafficking quantity" in the home they apprehended Barnwell from.

Authorities in Georgia say they've taken Johnifer D. Barnwell, 37, into custody nearly a month after he and three other men escaped from the Bibb County Detention Center in Macon, Georgia, on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. So, far three of the four men have been caught.
Authorities in Georgia say they've taken Johnifer D. Barnwell, 37, into custody nearly a month after he and three other men escaped from the Bibb County Detention Center in Macon, Georgia, on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. So, far three of the four men have been caught.

More: Manhunt enters second day for 4 Georgia jail escapees. Here's what to know.

Plea for public's help to find last escaped inmate

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Marshals Service have been assisting local law enforcement in the search for the missing inmates.

Authorities are still searching for 52-year-old Joey Fournier.

Police ask that anyone with a tip on the 52-year-old's whereabouts call the FBI’s tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI( 1-800-225-5324), the USMS at 1-877-WANTED2.

Tips could also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov or the USMS Tips App.

Joey Fournier, 52, is accused of breaking out of the Bibb County Detention Center in Macon, Georgia, on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, with three other men.
Joey Fournier, 52, is accused of breaking out of the Bibb County Detention Center in Macon, Georgia, on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, with three other men.

More: Captured: 1 of 4 inmates who escaped Georgia jail through cut fence arrested 50 miles away

How did the inmates escape?

Johnifer Barnwell, Joey Fournier, Marc Kerry Anderson, and Chavis Demaryo Stokes escaped from the the Bibb County Detention Center in Macon, Georgia on Oct. 16 by jumping from a second-floor broken window and running through a cut fence.

Stokes was apprehended 10 days later on Oct. 26 after fleeing in Montezuma, Georgia, about 51 miles south of the jail.

Anderson was arrested on Nov. 3 in Atlanta, which is about 85 miles north of Macon.

What crimes were the escaped inmates charged with?

Fournier, who is still on the lam, was arrested and charged with the murder of his ex-girlfriend. Prosecutors allege Fournier strangled Cynthia Lynn Berry with a shoelace in February 2022.

He faces felonious malice murder, aggravated assault and murder and has pleaded not guilty.

Anderson, 25, has been held since 2020 for aggravated assault. According to court records, Anderson allegedly fired a gun into a person's car and two people's homes.

Barnwell, 37, was carrying out a 15-year concurrent sentence since 2013. He was charged with a felony violation of Georgia's Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act and for felonious aggravated assault. He was also detained with 16 other people in a 12-count grand jury indictment for drug charges, according to court records.

Stokes, 29, is being held on charges of possession of a firearm and drug trafficking, along with other misdemeanor charges. He has been accused of supplying illicit items to inmates in February 2020; misdemeanor theft and obstruction charges in July 2021; and this past year, he was accused of obstruction, misdemeanor battery and giving or having prohibited items by inmates, according to court records.

Contributing: Kystal Nurse, Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Escaped inmates in Georgia: Third caught, 1 still on the run: Police