The third of four inmates who escaped from a Middle Georgia jail last month was found Sunday morning, according to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
Johnifer Dernard Barnwell, 37, was located just after 8 a.m. inside a home in the 3000 block of Alpine Drive in Augusta. The FBI assisted Bibb deputies with the arrest and “large amounts of drugs of trafficking quantity” were recovered from the residence, the sheriff’s office said.
Prior to his escape, Barnwell was being detained for the U.S. Marshals Service after he was convicted last month on federal drug trafficking charges. He faces significant time in prison when sentenced, the FBI previously said.
The arrest was made nearly a month after the four inmates escaped through a broken window and a cut fence at the jail about 3 a.m. Oct. 16, according to Bibb Sheriff David Davis. They then got into a blue Dodge Challenger, which was found four days later in the parking lot of Biomat USA, located at 630 North Avenue in Macon, the sheriff’s office said.
The first escaped inmate, 29-year-old Chavis Demaryo Stokes, was apprehended Oct. 26 by U.S. marshals at a home in Montezuma, about 50 miles southwest of the Bibb jail, authorities said. Stokes was previously charged with possession of a firearm and drug trafficking.
On Nov. 3, Marc Kerry Anderson, 25, was located just before 3 p.m. at the Huntley Apartments at 1000 Park Drive in northeast Atlanta, investigators said. Anderson was being held on aggravated assault charges prior to his escape. Deputies arrested him with help from the Georgia State Patrol and the Marshals Service.
The other escaped inmate is 52-year-old Joey Fournier, who remains at large and has been charged with murder. He is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, Cynthia Berry, in February 2022, according to the sheriff’s office. The FBI said it is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to his arrest.
Only 10 employees were working at the time of the escape, which happened in the oldest part of the 43-year-old jail, away from where inmates are housed, Davis previously said. There should have been as many as 30 employees working at the time, he added.
Anyone with information on the possible location of Fournier should call the FBI’s tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), the USMS at 1-877-WANTED2, or the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 478-751-7500. Tips may also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov or USMS Tips App.
