Final inmate of 4 men who escaped Georgia jail last month is captured

The final inmate of four men who escaped a Georgia jail, and had been on the lam for a month, has been caught, authorities said Saturday.  

Joey Fournier, 52, was apprehended near Stockbridge, Georgia, just before noon on Saturday, Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said in a news statement. 

Fournier was being held at the Bibb County Jail in Macon, Georgia, on a murder charge in connection with the 2022 death of his ex-girlfriend when he and the others escaped.

"We are grateful that this last escapee has been captured," Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said in a statement. 

Stockbridge is located about 65 miles north of Macon. 

Fournier, and three others — 24-year-old Marc Kerry Anderson, 37-year-old Johnifer Dernard Barnwell and 29-year-old Chavis Demaryo Stokes — fled from Bibb County jail on Oct. 16 as they climbed out of a damaged window in a day room, and then fled through a cut fence. 

Video footage showed a blue Dodge Challenger just outside the jail at 3 a.m. local time that day.  

The Dodge was found abandoned in Macon, a city about 80 miles southeast of Atlanta the next day. 

Stokes, 29, who had been initially arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and drug trafficking, was caught on Oct. 26;  Anderson, 25, who was in jail on aggravated assault charges, was captured on Nov. 3, and Barnwell, who was in jail on federal narcotics charges, was caught Nov. 12. Barnwell, and an alleged female accomplice in his escape, face new federal charges. 

Fournier was expected to be returned to the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center later Saturday, the sheriff said.

In:
• Georgia
• Escaped Prisoner

Cara Tabachnick

Cara Tabachnick is a news editor and journalist at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at [email protected]