Fugitives, caught in Tennessee, waive extradition; will return to Georgia

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Two men accused in the slayings of two Georgia prison guards this week have waived their rights Friday and are being extradited to Georgia.

Both men, Ricky Dubose, 24, and Donnie Russell "Whiskey" Rowe, 43, appeared in a Rutherford County, Tenn., courtroom  Friday morning.

According to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office in Georgia, Dubose is a member of the "Ghostface Gangsters" — a prison gang largely operating in Georgia and some parts of Florida.

Dubose and Row are accused of killing Christopher Monica, 42, and Curtis Billue, 58, of the Georgia Department of Corrections.

More:Couple 'traumatized' after being tied up by Georgia fugitives later caught

Putnam County (Ga.) Sheriff Howard Sills said the inmates fatally shot the guards on a prison transport bus Tuesday then carjacked a green 2004 Honda Civic and fled west toward Eatonton, about 70 miles southeast of Atlanta.

On Thursday, Dubose and Rowe tied up a couple inside their Bedford, Tenn., home and led police on a chase.

Rutherford County authorities captured the men after a police chase ended on Interstate 24 in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Sills said the fugitives had been armed with the officers’ .40 caliber Glock pistols when they fled the bus.

Sills said investigators were trying to determine how the two got out of the inmate cage and into the driver's compartment.

According to the Georgia Department of Corrections, the bus was headed to Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in Jackson, Ga. Officials said there were 31 other inmates on the bus — all of whom were accounted for and who were all at different facilities across the state Friday.

At some point the fugitives entered Tennessee where officials say they forced their way into a Bedford County home at gunpoint, tied up a couple who lived inside, ate their beef stew and pilfered their valuables.

More:Manhunt expands for 'vicious hoodlums' who killed Georgia prison guards

On Friday, a neighbor of the home invasion victims — whose name is being withheld to protect his identity — said he was told by police that those involved had received threats from white supremacist groups.

But Rutherford County Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh said there had been no reports to his office.

"We have heard nothing concerning any threats," he said.

Both men had been held without bond Friday at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center in Murfreesboro.

Bedford County, a rural community with a population of just  more than 45,000 people, is located less than an hour south of Nashville and borders Rutherford County where authorities captured the pair Thursday night.

It’s county seat is Shelbyville, where just under half of the county’s population live.

“It’s an extremely small town. Everybody in the county knows everyone else,” said Rachel Hempstead, 24, a barista at The Southern Cup in Shelbyville.

Holly Morlock, who works at the Cheesecake Factory near where the men were caught, said people who live around there are armed and know how to protect themselves. 

More:Manhunt: Georgia inmates kill 2 guards, carjack to freedom

“That’s what you get for messing with people in the country,” she said.

The men face homicide charges in Georgia stemming from the deaths of the corrections officers.

Dubose is serving a 20-year sentence for armed robbery, aggravated assault and theft from a 2014 case. Rowe has been in prison since 2002 with convictions including armed robbery, possession of a firearm during a crime and aggravated assault.

Fitzhugh said the agencies involved in the manhunt have to determine what additional charges will be filed before an actual bond will be set. The pair could also face charges in three Tennessee counties where they are accused of crimes: Rutherford, Monroe and Bedford.

"I'm waiting on some telephone calls from Georgia to see what the next step is," Fitzhugh said. "The (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) mostly likely will be the one that will lead on that. We'll need a lot of coordination on this. They're going to have to talk to every district attorney to make a determination ... what will the charges be. There will be a lot of sorting out to do."

Contributing: Mariah Timms, The Tennessean; John Bacon, USA TODAY. Follow Natalie Neysa Alund and Nancy DeGennaro on Twitter: @nataliealund and @NanDeGennaro