PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has been digging into how two Georgia inmates being transported on a prison bus were able to obtain two corrections officers' guns, which investigators say they used to kill the officers.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne has learned more details about the moments that led up to the deadly shooting.
A source familiar with the investigation, told Winne that the inmate bus that held Ricky Dubose and Donnie Rowe, as well as other inmates, stopped at Hancock State Prison and the inmates were left unattended on board.
The source told Winne that Dubose got through the door separating the inmates from the driver's compartment.
A container with food and a beverage belonging to one of the officers was taken and so was some kind of oral tobacco product belonging to one or both of the officers.
Also, a sandwich and the beverage were consumed by one or more inmates and the container was returned to the front of the bus.
Our source told Winne this allegedly occurred less than an hour before the deadly shootings of the state correction officers, Sgt. Curtis Billue and Sgt. Christopher Monica, as the bus was traveling through Putnam County June 14.
Our source suggested that according to the inmates, the padlock on the door was not locked.
The source said a toothbrush was later found on the floor near the door, which may or may not have been used to bump the unlocked padlock open.
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An emailed statement from the Georgia Department of Corrections said:
“The thoughts of the entire GDC family remain with the families of our fallen Officers, and we are grateful for the support and assistance by our law enforcement partners, the public and the media during this tragedy.
“We will continue to review and assess the facts surrounding the incident and determine how to move forward.
"In the meantime, we are looking forward to justice being served on the two individuals responsible for this heinous crime.”
Rowe and Dubose have been accused of murder and other crimes.
As the two suspects headed out of a Putnam County courtroom last week, Winne fired a question at the pair about how they were going to plead.
‘Not guilty," Dubose seemed to say to Winne.
Cox Media Group
