CHRISTIANA, Tenn. – Two men accused of murdering correction sergeants from Georgia were captured in Tennessee. The inmates reportedly attacked the officers, stole a weapon, and gunned them down.

Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue were identified as the sergeants killed during the bus transport, facilitating the inmates escape.

Murder and escape

The saga began with 33 inmates riding on a Georgia corrections bus as they were being driven to another prison.

Somehow, inmates Donnie Rowe (pictured top) and Ricky Dubose (pictured bottom) were able to get through a gate on the bus and overpower, disarm, and fatally shoot Monica and Billue, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills told reporters on Tuesday.

Manhunt begins for inmates accused of murdering correction sergeants

An intense three-day manhunt that began Tuesday morning in Putnam County, Ga., ended Thursday in rural Christiana, Tenn., which is about 50 miles southeast of Nashville, reported NPR.

Trail of crimes

As 31 other inmates remained on the bus, the two escapees carjacked another driver on state Highway 16, according to Sills. The pair took the stolen Honda Civic and began a crime spree, stealing food, clothing, money and cars to try to elude police.

Sills accurately described them as “dangerous beyond description.”

Rowe and Dubose managed to elude police until Thursday. Law enforcement authorities in Bedford County, Tenn., say that afternoon Rowe and Dubose invaded an elderly couple’s home in Shelbyville, threatened to kill them and held them captive for three hours.

The escaped cons took clothing and valuables, before fleeing in the couple’s car. A short time later the couple broke free from restraints and called police.

The victim’s stolen vehicle was apparently discovered by police, and a pursuit occurred. Consequently, sheriff’s deputies chased the men for about 10 miles on Interstate 24. During the pursuit, police said the fugitives fired numerous rounds at the deputies’ vehicle. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Ultimately, Rowe and Dubose crashed the car and ran on foot into dense woods.

Captured by armed citizens

Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Bill Miller says that’s when the fugitives tried to steal another vehicle. But this time, a homeowner saw the two trying to take his car. With help from a neighbor, they held the two escapees at gunpoint until police arrived.

Both of the suspects are in custody at the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office. It’s believed the two traveled to that part of Tennessee because they had family in the area.

A reward had been offered for information leading to the pair’s arrest. The amount had risen to $130,000. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn said he wasn’t sure who would get the reward. However, it seems like the armed citizens responsible for capturing these two should be given strong consideration for a share.

Remembering the fallen

Funerals are being planned for the slain correctional officers, Monica and Billue, both transfer sergeants at Baldwin State Prison.

After applauding the “tireless efforts” of law enforcement, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal paid tribute to the families of the two sergeants killed in the escape.

“We will do everything in our power to support their loved ones, and we will not forget their sacrifice and service,” Deal said.

Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Greg Dozier said in a statement that Rowe and Dubose “will be brought to justice swiftly for their heinous crime against our officers.”

Rowe began serving a life sentence without parole in 2002 and Dubose began serving a 20-year sentence in 2015.

Earlier in the week, Sheriff Sills in Georgia had told reporters that his biggest worry was that someone else would get killed. Fortunately, that did not occur.

(Photo courtesy Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)