MACON, Ga. — It's been nearly three months since four men escaped from the Bibb County jail. It's been two months since the last escapee was recaptured.
While the inmates are back in custody, investigators continue to work, piecing together what happened. Some of their work is an internal affairs investigation. 13WMAZ obtained a copy of the internal affairs report, which details a timeline of the whole night.
It includes when a jailer first heard banging noises, and how long it took to communicate that to his supervisor. Now, we know down to the minute when four inmates jumped out of a second-floor window.
"That was the human failure," Sheriff David Davis said in December.
Deputy Jonathan Hubbard calls it a 'major problem.' That's what he told supervisors when he found two holes in the jail's perimeter fence on his way to work Oct. 16 at 6:20 a.m.
"It was not something I wanted to hear about," Maj. Chris Patterson said about the escape in December.
The early morning discovery was part of a jailbreak that started nearly 12 hours earlier. That's when Deputy Travaris Freeman clocked in for his shift watching over the A and B wings of the jail at 7 p.m. He noticed something was off.
"He had made some report to his supervisor, the corporal that was in charge of the jail that night, that he heard some banging," Davis said.
According to Freeman's internal affairs interview, he didn't report it for seven hours. He says he told his supervisor, Cpl. LaTasha Culver, around 2 a.m. The timeline of events in the report says Culver first told Freeman to log it. Around 3 a.m., she asked him to check out the noise.
"He did not do a thorough block check and did not go through and do as he said he did," Davis said.
According to the report, he wouldn't check for another two hours. From the time Culver asked Freeman to check to when he did it, a lot happened.
A blue Dodge Challenger parked in the jail's west parking lot around 3:21 a.m. and left at 3:26 a.m. Minutes later, two inmates crawled through the fence at 3:29. Another two left the jail at 3:30.
According to the report, by the time Freeman checked on the source of the noise around 5 a.m., the inmates had already been gone for more than an hour.
"We have to know that something is happening, or verify that something is happening. And that was the human failure," Davis said.
Several accounts in the report document severe understaffing. In her interview, Culver said she called a supervisor for help. He told her to pull someone from booking, but there weren't enough staff there either.
Freeman said lights weren't working on his block, which is part of the reason he didn't check sooner.
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Full timeline of events (military time):
Oct. 15, 2023
1900: Freeman references banging noise, staff shortage and inmates out of their cells in West Control Logbook, when he took over the post.
1930: Corporal Culver notifies Capt. Jones of a staff shortage.
2211: A blue Dodge Challenger arrives in the BCSO LEC West parking lot.
2219: A suspect, who had exited the blue Challenger carrying a bag, opens the hole in the outer LEC perimeter fence.
2220: The suspect breaches the outer perimeter fence and opens the hole in the inner perimeter fence.
2221: The suspect sends the bag he was carrying, up to the B300 inmates, via sheets tied together dropped down from within B Block.
2222: The suspect exits the jail perimeter fences, gets into the Challenger, and departs.
Oct. 16, 2023
0200: Freeman tells Culver about hearing noise on the block and Culver tells him to document it.
0300: Culver tells Freeman to investigate the noise he heard coming from B Block.
0320: The blue Challenger returns to the LEC West parking lot.
0321: The Challenger parks near the hole in the outer perimeter fence.
0323: 'Suspicious' red SUV driving erratically down Hazel St.
0326: The Challenger leaves BCSO property.
0329: 2 inmates exit the perimeter by way of the holes in the fences.
0330: 2 more inmates exit the perimeter by way of the holes in the fences.
0500: Freeman checks on the source of the noise he's been hearing. He said he glanced into the B300 Dayroom but did not see anything because the lights weren't working.
0620: Deputy Jonathan Hubbard discovers the holes in the perimeter fences.
0714: Capt. Jones orders lockdown.
0914: Dispatch is notified of the escape.