All three escapees from DeKalb County jail captured in Miami after 24-hour manhunt

DEKALB COUNTY, GA–Three violent inmates who escaped from the DeKalb County Jail on Sunday, Dec. 21, have been captured after a female Lyft driver  was ordered to take them to Miami, Florida, 600 miles away, authorities said during a press conference on today, Dec. 23.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests of  Stevenson Charles, 24,  Yusuf Minor, 31; and Naod Yohannes. The men were arrested on Monday night and booked into the Broward County, FL  jail, after nearly a 24-hour manhunt that included multiple law enforcement agencies.

The suspects reportedly received help from two accomplices in their escape from the DeKalb jail,  said Thomas Brown, U.S. Marshall for the Northern District of Georgia. Brown was among the authorities leading the press conference with Sheriff Melody Maddox and Tremeris Atkins, Chief Deputy of the DeKalb County Jail.

Brown said investigators developed leads in the case by reviewing the jail’s recorded telephone calls between inmates and the public. 

Brown said a man, who has been identified as Christopher Thompson, picked up the three inmates outside the jail around 11 p.m. on Sunday and then drove the trio to the home of  Minor’s girlfriend, who has been identified as Gabriela  Ortis. Minor reportedly arranged for  a Lyft  driver to pick up the three men and take them to an address in Miami.

Atlanta News First reported the Lyft driver later told authorities that she was “uneasy” about giving the men a ride but agreed to. She told police that she endured a harrowing ordeal in which the men  threatened she would be shot, tortured and raped. 

The Marshals used license plate reader technology to track the inmates to Miami.

Officials said the escape was discovered late Sunday night during a routine security check, “which revealed the inmates missing.”  Chief Atkins and Sheriff Maddox declined to provide details about the manner of the escape, but said the aging 30-year-old DeKalb jail has infrastructure that can be compromised.

Brown said investigators developed leads in the case by reviewing recorded telephone calls made by the three inmates. The recording of telephone calls between inmates and the public is standard operating procedures, he said.

Although authorities discovered he trio had disappeared from the jail on Sunday, the public was not notified of the escape until mid-morning on Monday, Dec. 22. When questioned about the delay in notifying the public about the jailbreak, Sheriff Maddox said officials needed to confirm the escape.

“We’re not going to put any information out there unless it’s valid and it has been verified to make sure the citizens of DeKalb County are getting valid information that they’re supposed to have,” Sheriff  Maddox said.

Christopher Thompson, who aided the inmates in their escape, has been arrested. Gabriela Ortis also is facing charges for her part in the escape, authorities said.