4 prison guards in custody for allegedly helping 5 escape county jail

YAZOO CITY, Miss. (AP) — Four guards at a Mississippi prison face charges for allegedly helping five men escape over the weekend, authorities said.

Yazoo County Sheriff Jeremy McCoy confirmed the arrests of three men and one woman Wednesday but wouldn’t identify the correctional officers who were allegedly involved with the prison break Sunday at the Yazoo County Regional Correctional Facility, saying the case was still under investigation, WLBT-TV reported.

“We’re still getting more information on the matter,” he said. “We should have the whole ring. It’s a whole mess.”

McCoy said the individuals are no longer employed by the county and are currently in custody at another facility.

Of the five detainees who escaped jail on Sunday, so far three — Marlon Willis, Marcus Green, and Deliuwon Stowers — have been recaptured. Glen Bassett is still on the run. A fifth unnamed detainee was captured shortly after the escape.

McCoy told the television station that investigators determined correctional officers were involved, in part, after questioning several people and looking at video surveillance.

“Our investigators did some really good investigating on them... enough to produce some charges,” he said.

Exactly what charges the former officers face and details of how the prison break occurred have not been released.