MACON, Ga. — On Oct. 16, 2023, four men — Joey Fournier, Chavis Stokes, Marc Anderson and Johnifer Barnwell — escaped from the Bibb County jail.
But in just over a year, there has been considerable movement in the cases that put the four men behind bars in the first place, and the new charges they faced after their escape.
Here's a look at where their cases stand right now.
Chavis Stokes:
Chavis Stokes was the first escapee to be captured in Montezuma and was brought back to the Bibb County Jail.
Stokes pleaded guilty in February to the escape and received a five-year prison sentence.
He also pleaded guilty to a variety of other charges — such as trafficking, aggravated and distribution of meth — and, in exchange, prosecutors dropped other charges against him.
All told, Stokes could spend up to 45 years in prison. According to the Department of Corrections, Stokes is still at the Bibb County Jail.
But Stokes also now faces additional federal charges related to his time on the run.
When he was arrested in Macon County after 11 days on the run, authorities discovered multiple guns. As a convicted felon, that is a federal crime.
Becasue of that, he was indicted in February on charges for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. That case is still being prosecuted.
Marc Anderson:
The aggravated assault charges that landed Marc Anderson were dropped in exchange for him pleading guilty to terroristic threats.
But he also pleaded guilty to the escape on June 3, and he received a five-year prison sentence. He also had his probation revoked from a previous case out of Jones County in March and received an 18 year prison sentence on top of his escape charge.
"Mr. Anderson, you knew where you were supposed to be," Judge Jeffrey Monroe said in his plea hearing.
But Anderson was caught off guard when the judge, Monroe, asked him a question: "Have you plotted with your confederates to get out of jail or you just saw a hole and jumped out and you ran with them?"
After the judge reiterated himself, Anderson answered.
"Opportunity just presented itself and I took it," Anderson said.
During the hearing, Anderson said conditions inside the jail were terrible and unsafe/
Later, he added: "I mean, I know you understand the jail conditions. It's very rough... The rat was in my bed. I woke up, he was nibbling on my foot. I know you understand people are getting stabbed in there. It's very dangerous. It's not a safe environment."
But while recognizing those dangers, Monroe said that is still not an excuse.
"The sheriff is not running a Motel 6 or Holiday Inn to make you conformable. Not meant to put you there and abuse you either," Monroe said. "But it's not meant to be comfortable. If it stinks and it cramps your style and makes you not want to go back there, then it serves some purpose."
He's at the state prison in Jackson and could be in prison until 2036 at the latest.
Johnifer Barnwell
Johnifer Barnwell was in the Bibb Jail waiting to be sentenced on federal drug charges, but in July, Barnwell entered a guilty plea.
He was captured in Augusta roughly three weeks after the escape, surrounded by massive quantities of drugs, guns and more.
“During the month Barnwell was a fugitive, he made no efforts to turn himself in and end the extensive and time-intensive manhunt,” federal prosecutor Joy Odom said in his plea hearing. “He resumed the drug trafficking he had been convicted of.”
In a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge C. Ashley Royal, admitted to his time on the run.
“Are you pleading guilty on your own free will… because you are guilty of the crime you are accused of?” Royal asked
“Yes,” Barnwell leaned into the microphone said.
He hasn't been sentenced. But faces a five-year penalty on the escape charge.
When he goes for sentencing, they will also hand down his sentence in his federal drug trafficking conviction, which carries up to life in federal prison.
Joey Fournier:
Joey Fournier — the last inmate to be captured just over a month after the escape — was found guilty in April of murdering his ex-girlfriend Cynthia Berry
He was sentenced to life in prison, but that case is quite not over yet.
According to court records, Fournier has asked for a new trial, arguing his attorney was unconstitutionally ineffective and autopsy photos were wrongfully included into evidence over his attorney's objection.
That will go before a judge on Nov. 14.
While he was convicted on his murder charges, Fournier has not been convicted in his escape charge. He also faces up to five years in prison on that charge.
Department of Correction records show Fournier is also at the state prison in Jackson, where Marc Anderson is also incarcerated.