By Liz Fabian

The Macon Telegraph

PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. — An accused killer of two Georgia prison guards appeared with a shaved head Friday morning in Putnam County Superior Court.

Inmate Ricky Dubose, one of two inmates accused of slipping out of handcuffs and killing two corrections officers on a prison bus last summer, had recently been found behind bars with a makeshift key stashed in his hair, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said.

Ricky Dubose escaped from a prison bus after two COs were slain with their own guns on June 13. (Photo/Georgia DOC)

"(Department of Corrections) discovered that he had a homemade handcuff key on his person," Sills said he told Judge Alison Burleson in a security briefing preceding Dubose's appearance at the courthouse in Eatonton.

Dubose and inmate Donnie Russell Rowe escaped from a prison bus after guards Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue were slain with their own guns on June 13.

A review of the incident showed a series of human errors contributed to the deadly attack on Ga. 16 east of Eatonton.

The fleeing fugitives triggered a massive manhunt that ended when they were caught three days later in Tennessee.

Friday, Dubose waived his arraignment and pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges levied in a six-count indictment handed up in September.

His attorneys also filed standard motions in the case, Sills said.

Dubose and Rowe have been housed at the prison in Jackson after their brief first appearance in the Putnam County Courthouse on June 21.

The prisoners were brought back to Georgia under extremely tight security.

At the time of their escape, Rowe was serving life without parole for a 2002 conviction for a string of armed robberies and assaults, including a robbery at a Macon motel.

Dubose was in for 20 years for armed robbery, aggravated assault and stealing in 2014.

Friday, attorneys were told to have motions filed in the case by March 1.

Dubose is due back in court in April, while Rowe is expected at the Putnam County Courthouse Feb. 2, Sills said.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for both men.

©2018 The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Ga.)