The three inmates worked together, creating a plan for their escape.
But they did it on a DeKalb County Jail phone, and the call was recorded, the U.S. Marshals Service confirmed Tuesday. Turns out, a Lyft ride and Airbnb rental weren’t the best ways to get away.
One inmate coordinated for a man to pick them up outside the jail and take them to the home of another inmate’s girlfriend, officials said. She then summoned a Lyft driver, who picked up the trio at a home where another inmate had lived, the Marshals Service said. The inmates then forced the driver to take them to South Florida, where an Airbnb was booked.
When the vehicle was stopped near Miami by local deputies, two inmates tried to run. But all three were caught late Monday, and the Lyft driver was left traumatized after learning the truth about her passengers.
“We’re the U.S. Marshals and we have ways to track,” U.S. Marshal Thomas Brown said at a news conference.
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal
The three men, including one charged with murder and one previously convicted of it, were back in custody hours after an intense search that involved multiple law enforcement agencies and spanned two states.
“The streets of DeKalb County are once again safe,” Sheriff Melody Maddox said. “They are safe for our communities, and we want to say that is because of the swift action of the law enforcement you see standing here and others.”
Many details were released Tuesday about what the three men did after escaping. But several questions remain unanswered, including how the inmates got out of the building.
Plus, the sheriff said the escape highlights the problems at the aging facility — thoughts echoed by the Fulton County sheriff about his jail. Maddox said the age of the DeKalb jail makes it difficult to keep it secure. The facility is more than 30 years old.
“We’re gonna be asking for things to assist us with this aging facility that’s deteriorating right before our eyes,” she said. “We know that it’s gonna cost money. But we either pay now or it’s going to be pay later.”
Maddox has served as sheriff since December 2019, overseeing the multistory jail on Memorial Drive at I-285. Construction began in 1991 on the 987,000-square-foot facility that cost $70 million, according to previous Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
The three inmates escaped late Sunday, according to investigators. They were found to be missing during a routine security check, prompting a search of the jail, Maddox said.
By 2:30 a.m. Monday, the escapees were in a Lyft, according to the U.S. Marshals. At 10 a.m., the sheriff’s office alerted the media they were gone. They were identified as Stevenson Charles, Yusuf Minor and Naod Yohannes.
“The difference between the time that they exited the facility and the time that we got onto it, there was some distance between there because of the activities that were going on,” Chief Deputy Temetris Atkins with the sheriff’s office said, estimating it was about four hours. “We executed one activity, then we come back several hours later and do our next round. … You have to understand that there’s not an omnipresence in that cell, so that’s the gap there."
Atkins said deputies had to verify the information before alerting the public and media.
“We will never give out information prematurely because that will cause chaos,” he said.
Open records requests made by the AJC for several jail documents were denied Tuesday. The county stated the documents, including copies of the public agency’s internal policies, were exempt from public disclosure during the ongoing investigation.
Maddox reiterated Tuesday that the facility is safe.
“The DeKalb County jail is secure,” the sheriff said. “This was a breach.”
But Maddox declined to discuss specifics about what security measures failed. The department will be increasing the frequency of rounds at the jail, and the area of the building “compromised” by the inmates has been repaired, the sheriff and Atkins said.
“We’re not gonna sit here and go back and forth and point blame,” Maddox said. “We’re gonna focus on what we can do to stop it from happening in the future.”
It’s the second time in a month that a metro Atlanta inmate has managed to escape custody. Earlier in December, a Rockdale County inmate freed himself while at Grady Memorial Hospital, leading to a search that spanned several metro counties.
After nearly three days, Timothy Allen Shane, 52, was located in Newton County and returned to custody. At least one ride-hailing trip was part of his escape path, too.
All three DeKalb inmates were in federal custody Tuesday and will face charges for the alleged kidnapping of the ride-hailing driver. They are awaiting transport back to Georgia, where they are also expected to face additional charges.
“We are deeply concerned by this incident and relieved that the driver is safe,” a Lyft spokesperson said Tuesday. “Our hearts are with the driver and we have reached out to offer support. Lyft is working closely with law enforcement to assist in any way we can as the investigation continues.”
In May, 10 Louisiana inmates made national headlines when they broke out of the Orleans Parish Jail through a hole in a cell wall behind a toilet, The Associated Press reported. Though some escapees were captured the same day, others remained on the run, according to news reports. In October, the final inmate was captured in Fulton.
In the DeKalb case, investigators knew right away the trio were a violent group. No other injuries were reported during their escape.
Charles, 24, is charged with murder and armed robbery; Minor, 31, is charged with two counts of armed robbery and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony; and Yohannes, 25, is charged with simple assault, arson and unlawful acts of violence in a penal institution.
All three were considered dangerous, the sheriff’s office said, and the public was warned not to approach them.
Charles was the primary focus of the search because of his previous conviction of federal armed carjacking charges in Florida, according to the U.S. Marshals.
Minor is already serving a life sentence for a Clayton County murder, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.
In early 2024, he was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, the district attorney previously said. Minor’s life sentence includes an additional 25 years, but he will be eligible for parole.
In September 2024, a DeKalb grand jury indicted Yohannes on charges of arson and criminal damage to property, according to court records. While in jail, he was charged with simple assault and riot in a penal institution, booking records show.
In Fulton, Sheriff Pat Labat has repeatedly advocated for a new jail to be built, but commissioners have instead opted for a tax to fund improvements at the existing facility.
In a November 2024 report, the U.S. Department of Justice said the county is violating the civil rights of the people housed at the jail by allowing “abhorrent, unconstitutional” conditions. Federal officials spent 16 months studying the conditions at Rice Street and three annex facilities.
— Staff writers Rosana Hughes and David Aaro contributed to this article.
DeKalb County Jail
Construction began: 1991
Address: 4425 Memorial Drive, Decatur
Sheriff: Melody Maddox
The escape of three inmates this week raised questions about security at the county jail, which is more than three decades old. Officials said the men managed to leave the detention center before hopping into a Lyft and traveling to South Florida, where they were captured. Jail officials have not said how they got out.
Fulton County Jail
Year opened: 1989
Address: 901 Rice Street, Atlanta
Sheriff: Patrick Labat
The Fulton County Jail on Rice Street is under a federal consent decree following a Justice Department investigation that found “abhorrent, unconstitutional” conditions. County officials recently approved plans for a $1.2 billion renovation, which is set to include a new medical and mental health wing. Labat has long sought an entirely new jail, saying the facility is falling apart and that detainees are able to fashion makeshift weapons from its crumbling infrastructure.
Clayton County Jail
Year opened: 2000
Address: 9157 Tara Boulevard, Jonesboro
Sheriff: Levon Allen
Clayton County’s jail made national headlines earlier this year after sheriff’s office personnel mistakenly released an inmate who had recently been convicted of murder. Officials said Kathan Guzman was released in error, but it took about two weeks for authorities to acknowledge the mistake and inform the public that Guzman had been freed. He was arrested at a relative’s home in Florida and returned to custody.
Gwinnett County Jail
Address: 2900 University Parkway, Lawrenceville
Sheriff: Keybo Taylor
The Gwinnett County jail is a pre-trial detention facility that houses between 2,000 and 2,600 inmates, according to the county website.
Cobb County Jail
Year opened: 1987
Address: 1825 County Services Parkway
Sheriff: Craig Owens
The original Cobb jail was built in 1987 for $13.5 million, according to the county website. The detention center was expanded twice since then — in 1997 for $39.2 million and again in 2010 for $110 million. The total capacity for all three towers is 3,077.
— Compiled by staff writer Shaddi Abusaid
About the Authors
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
