Mississippi jail break latest: Manhunt underway for escaped inmates after pastor killed in Leake County

The escaped inmates have so far used a number of stolen vehicles in their getaways.

Authorities have said that a truck – a red Chevy Silverado – was stolen from close to the jail at around 2.30am on Sunday morning with a witness spotting two men inside the vehicle.

Investigators believe this is connected to the jail break.

Another vehicle – a Hinds County Public Works vehicle – was found abandoned in Spring Valley Village, Texas, after at least one of the fugitives is believed to have used it in his escape.

Surveillance footage has captured Jerry Raynes at a service station in Spring Valley, Texas, at around 11am on Sunday morning.

A red Dodge Ram 1500 truck was also stolen when Dylan Arrington allegedly shot pastor Anthony Watts dead and made off in his vehicle.

A candlelight vigil was held for Anthony Watts on Tuesday night at the church where he has been the lead pastor for the last six years.

Anthony Watts, the 61-year-old pastor of St Mary Missionary Baptist Church in D’Lo, Mississippi, was killed on Monday night when he pulled over to help Dylan Arrington, after the inmate got into a motorcycle wreck during his time on the run.

Arrington then stole Watts’ Dodge Ram and fled.

In a video update on Wednesday, Leake County Sheriff Randy Atkinson outlined what happened during the encounter with fugitive Dylan Arrington.

The sheriff said that officers went to a home where they believed the suspect had been at around 7am that morning.

When they arrived, the homeowner was home and they spoke with him briefly.

The homeowner then entered the residence before running out and saying the suspect was in the house.

Arrington then started shooting at the officers from inside the home, with a bullet striking an officer in the leg, said the sheriff.

More units responded to the address and the suspect allegedly continued to fire on them.

The sheriff said that the home then went up in flames.

Arrington’s body was later confirmed to be found inside.

The three fugitives still on the run will face additional charges over the prison break once they are captured.

Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said that the men now face additional charges of escape and possibly auto theft.

This is on top of the charge they were already behind bars for.

They were in custody at Raymond Detention Center on a variety of charges including theft, firearm and auto theft charges.

The Good Samaritan pastor who was shot dead for trying to help one of the escaped inmates “always wanted to help people”, according to his friends.

Pastor Anthony Watts, 61, was killed on Monday night when he pulled over to help Dylan Arrington, after the inmate got into a motorcycle wreck during his time on the run.

Arrington then stole Watts’ Dodge Ram and fled.

Close friends of Watts – who was the lead pastor at St Mary Missionary Baptist Church in D’Lo, Mississippi – paid tribute to him as someone who always wanted to look out for others.

“That was the type of person he was. He always wanted to help. Always wanted to know what he can do whatever the circumstance may be,” Karen Fairley told WAPT.

“He always told you he loved you and his spirit was so sincere, so kind, and so loving to just everyone he came in contact with.”

She said she can understand why he stopped to help the escaped inmate as that was who he was.

“The action that happened, we could understand why he did it, because that was just in his nature,” said Ms Fairley, whose father is an associate minister at the church.

Raymond Detention Center had a chequered past long before four inmates escaped over the weekend.

Last summer, deficiencies in supervision and staffing, and “a stunning array of assaults, as well as deaths” prompted a judge to order a takeover of the detention centre, according to the Associated Press.

Seven people died last year while detained at the jail, according to US District Judge Carlton Reeves said. Judge Reeves wrote in his ruling that cell doors did not lock and a lack of lighting in cells made life “miserable for the detainees who live there and prevents guards from adequately surveilling detainees.”

He also said guards sometimes slept instead of monitoring the cameras in the control room.

But before an appointed receiver was scheduled to assume control over the jail this year, a court of appeals halted the lower court’s order until it ruled on the county’s motion for reconsideration.

Investigations have been launched into the Mississippi jail break which has now culminated in two deaths – one of an innocent Good Samaritan and the second of one of the four inmates.

Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said that both an administrative and criminal investigation is underway as authorities seek to determine how the inmates were able to break free from the facility.

Details are still emerging about how the four inmates managed to escape from Raymond Detention Center on Sunday.

Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said in a press conference on Monday that two breaches had been found inside the jail – one inside a cell and the other in the roof.

The four escapees are believed to have managed to climb onto the roof at around 8.30pm on Saturday night and camped up there, before leaving the facility at different times.

The jail break was discovered at around 12.30am on Sunday morning during a routine head count and the facility was instantly plunged into lockdown.