RICHMOND, Va. (WFXR) — Police announced Wednesday the arrest of a second employee of the Department of Juvenile Justice’s (DJJ) Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in connection with the escape of two inmates earlier this week.
Virginia State Police says state troopers took 42-year-old Darren Briggs of Lawrenceville into custody without incident on Wednesday, July 15, for one felony count of providing a cell phone to a prisoner.
Just like with 23-year-old Destiny L. Harris — who was arrested on Tuesday, July 14 for two counts of aiding with the escape of a juvenile — police say Briggs is an employee of the DJJ who worked at the Bon Air facility. Both Harris and Briggs are being held at the Chesterfield County Jail, according to officials.
Meanwhile, Virginia State Police and U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force are following up on multiple leads to track down 20-year-old Jabar A. Taylor of Washington, D.C., and 18-year-old Rashad E. Williams of Spotsylvania County, both of whom escaped the facility on Monday, July 13.
Taylor — convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and aggravated malicious assault — and Williams — convicted of malicious wounding and robbery — were going to be transferred to an adult Department of Corrections facility after their 21st birthdays.
However, early Monday morning, officials say the men used a cord to choke a security staff member, who briefly lost consciousness. They then took the staff member’s keys, escaped through a hole that had been cut in the security fence, and then got in a car that reportedly appeared to have been waiting for them.
Anyone with information related to either escapee is encouraged to call 911 or the Virginia State Police at (804) 553-3445. At this stage of the investigation, police believe both individuals have left the state of Virginia.
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