Escaped Inmate Suspected of Killing Good Samaritan

Police believe Mississippi inmate murdered man, stole his pickup truck
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 25, 2023 2:27 PM CDT
Escaped Mississippi Inmate Is Suspect in Murder, Carjacking
Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones released this photo of the vehicle.   (Hinds County Sheriff)

A man who escaped from a Mississippi jail over the weekend is suspected of killing a man and stealing his pickup truck in Jackson, authorities said Tuesday. Anthony Watts, 61, was shot and killed Monday night around 7pm on Interstate 55 after he pulled over to help a man who had wrecked a motorcycle, the AP reports. Police say that man shot Watts several times and then stole his Red Dodge Ram. Watts died at the scene. "Based on information gathered from investigators, the suspect ... fit the description of 22-year-old Dylan Arrington," Jackson Police Chief James E. Davis said.

Arrington is one of four prisoners—along with Casey Grayson, Corey Harrison, and Jerry Raynes—who escaped Saturday night from the Raymond Detention Center, a facility near Jackson, through breaches in a cell and the roof. Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said the men might have camped out on the roof before fleeing the facility and going their separate ways. The four were in custody for various felony charges, most involving theft. Arrington had charges of auto theft and illegal possession of a firearm, WAPT reports.

Watts' stolen Red Dodge Ram, which has tan trim and Cowboys stickers on the front and the back, was last seen heading south on I-55 in Terry, Mississippi, police said. Jones said one of the prisoners stole a Hinds County Public Works vehicle that was later recovered in a suburb of Houston. Investigators also believe a stolen Chevy Silverado is connected to the escape. None of the men had been captured as of Tuesday afternoon.

(More Mississippi stories.)

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