Authorities are searching for three inmates, including one charged with murder, who escaped from a county jail east of Atlanta on Dec. 22.

The three inmates fled from the DeKalb County Jail early on Dec. 22, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. They were found missing during a routine security check, which prompted internal security teams to search the jail, the sheriff’s office said.

“We take this breach very seriously and are working diligently to ensure these individuals are safely returned to custody as quickly as possible,” DeKalb County Sheriff Melody M. Maddox said in a statement.

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The sheriff’s office did not provide further details on how the inmates were able to escape from the jail, but said its fugitive unit and uniform patrol units were “actively searching” for the three men. Several local law enforcement agencies, along with the U.S. Marshals Service, are assisting in the search.

The sheriff’s office warned that the inmates might be armed and are considered dangerous. The agency said the public is “urged to exercise extreme caution and should not approach them,” adding that people with information regarding the men’s whereabouts are asked to contact authorities.

The DeKalb County Jail is located in Decatur, about 10 miles east of downtown Atlanta.

3 Georgia inmates facing multiple charges, including murder

The sheriff’s office said the three inmates were being held on multiple charges. The three men were identified as:

• Stevenson Charles, 24, is charged with murder and armed robbery.
• Yusuf Minor, 31, is charged with two counts of armed robbery and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
• Naod Yohannes, 25, is charged with simple assault, arson, and unlawful acts of violence in a penal institution.

The U.S. Marshals Service is mainly seeking the location of Charles, according to WSB-TV in Atlanta and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The agency described Charles as a violent fugitive, the television station reported.

The U.S. Marshals Service told WSB-TV that Charles has been “charged with, or convicted of, murder, aggravated assault, weapons violations, sodomy on a person less than 10 years old, kidnapping, carjacking, armed robbery and probation violations.”

In 2024, Charles pleaded guilty in Georgia to false imprisonment, aggravated sodomy, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of armed robbery, and two counts of aggravated assault, according to the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Before his guilty plea, the district attorney’s office said he was convicted in 2023 in a federal court in Florida for carjacking, kidnapping, and robbing five victims in Miami.

“Let the message go out to Mr. Charles and all other fugitives. We are looking for, and we will find you,” Thomas E. Brown, the U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Georgia, said in a statement, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Any person who violates the laws of the United States will not be allowed a moment of rest. You will never find peace. You will answer for your crimes.”

The U.S. Marshals Service did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on Dec. 22.

Recent jailbreaks across the United States

The incident in Georgia is the latest jailbreak to occur in the United States this year. It also comes just weeks after another Georgia inmate escaped from custody at a hospital and used ride-hailing services, including an Uber ride, to evade sheriff’s deputies.

The inmate, identified as 52-year-old Timothy Shane, was captured after about three days in Covington, a small city located outside of Atlanta, authorities said.

On Dec. 19, authorities arrested the last of three inmates who escaped from a Louisiana jail in early December by removing mortar and concrete blocks from a degraded part of a wall.

In June, a former Arkansas police chief — convicted murderer and rapist Grant Hardin — was recaptured following a 12-day manhunt. Hardin had escaped from prison disguised as a guard and only made it over a mile away from the facility before he was found.

Earlier in the year, 10 inmates brazenly escaped from a New Orleans jail. Authorities previously said the inmates fled through a hole in a cell wall after ripping away a toilet and sink unit on the morning of May 16.

Most of the escapees were caught in the weeks after, and since then, multiple people have been charged with helping the inmates escape or stay on the run. The final inmate was recaptured on Oct. 8 in Atlanta, nearly five months after the escape.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY