A California inmate eluded police custody while being transported to state prison last month. Residents south of the Atlanta airport were instructed to lock their doors and report any suspicious activity to police as the inmate fled from the authorities. The inmate, Devonte Detuan Ross, was being transported to a state prison in Georgia when he managed to slip free of the police.
Ross asked the police to stop at a convenience store to get him a bite to eat. When they stopped at a local gas station, Ross managed to get free from the vehicle transporting him and vanished from view. By the time authorities realized he’d made a break for it, he was out of sight. Authorities launched a manhunt for the inmate immediately, warning local residents about the escaped prisoner.
Manhunt Ensues
The manhunt covered much of the Atlanta metro area, with police warning that the inmate could be dangerous. Notably, police pointed out that Ross should still be handcuffed, with chains around his waist and wrists making it fairly obvious that he was an escapee.
Ross was being transported from Fresno, California, to Jackson, Georgia. He faced charges of trafficking narcotics, burglary, and violating probation. It is unclear how, exactly, he managed to get away from the officers, or why he was being transported across the country to serve out his sentence.
Not the First Escapee that Day
Even more puzzling, Ross wasn’t the first prisoner to escape the authorities in Atlanta that day. Earlier, an Arizona man who is a suspect in a murder case managed to elude the police outside of Atlanta’s airport. With both of these prisoners on the loose in the city, authorities issued warnings for local residents to be vigilant and to lock their doors.
The Arizona man, Jsaan Carlos Strover, escaped police while they were dropping off a rental car near the airport. He was spotted not long after his escape by a local television crew. The police were able to swiftly apprehend Strover, and he was subsequently transported back to Arizona.
Ross, meanwhile, was at large for a week before police recaptured him. It is unclear how police found him, or where he was hiding. Authorities didn’t specify whether Ross had managed to break his shackles and change clothes, or if he had simply been avoiding detection for a week altogether. In either event, he has been transported to Jackson, Georgia, and awaits sentencing for his charges.
