MDOC inmates both in custody, charged with escape
JACKSON, MS. - The following is a press release from the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC).
Parchman escapee Ryan Young is now in custody, ending the manhunt that started early Monday when he and another inmate were discovered missing from the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
Young, 22, was captured shortly before 6 p.m. today at a residence in Mound Bayou, which is about an hour from Parchman and miles from where fellow inmate James R. Sanders was caught.
Sanders, 42, was arrested about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday outside a residence in Helena, Ark., which is in Phillips County.
The two fugitives apparently had split up once they got off prison grounds. They were discovering missing from Unit 30 during a pre-dawn routine count.
How they escaped and whether other persons will face charges, including aiding and abetting, are part of an ongoing investigation.
“The Mississippi Department of Corrections is conducting an internal investigation,” Commissioner Pelicia E. Hall said. “Releasing some information in response to speculation would be premature. More information will be released when the investigation is finalized.”
The men’s capture is the result of numerous local, county, state and federal agencies working together. MDOC’s officers, including Corrections Investigation Division (CID), K-9, ERT, and Probation and Parole agents, worked with officers from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics (MBN), the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI), the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
They also worked with officers with the Drew, Ruleville and Mound Bayou Police Departments and the Sunflower, Claiborne, Lafayette and Phillips Counties Sheriffs’ Departments. Additionally, MDOC appreciates the help of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.
“The assistance provided by these agencies is invaluable and greatly appreciated,” Hall said. “Both Young and Sanders are back in custody because of the combined efforts of all involved.”
Young and Sanders are now back in prison. Both will be charged with escape.
Sanders, #K3337, is serving a life sentence for homicide/murder. He was sentenced in 2000 from Lafayette County.
Young, #168743, is serving 40 years for burglary of a vehicle, burglary of a residence, grand larceny, and possession of a firearms by a convicted felon in Claiborne County. He was sentenced in 2015.
