Escaped inmates who killed officers captured in Tennessee

SHELBYVILLE, Tennessee (WTVD) -- Authorities say the two escaped inmates wanted in the slayings of two Georgia prison guards were captured after a car crash and foot chase in Tennessee.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Nelly Miles says police in Shelbyville, Tennessee, got a call about a home invasion Thursday. She says Donnie Russell Rowe and Ricky Dubose held an elderly couple captive and then fled in the couple's vehicle.

Police responded and started chasing the pair. Miles says the inmates got in a wreck, left the vehicle and then led police on a foot chase.

She says both men were taken into custody in Christiana, Tennessee.

On Tuesday morning, the men, who were cellmates at Baldwin State Prison, overpowered two correctional officers who were driving a transport bus along Georgia State Route 16 between Eatonton and Sparta in Putnam County, about 80 miles southeast of Atlanta, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

The prisoners breached a protective gate on the bus to reach the officers at the front of the bus, before disarming and killing them both, the sheriff's office said. It is unclear at this time whether specifically Rowe or Dubose shot and killed the two correctional officers.

Rowe and Dubose, armed with the officers' weapons, allegedly carjacked a Honda Civic from a resident who was driving by, and then fled west toward Eatonton.

Police believe the suspects then stole a 2008 Ford F150 that had the keys still in it, in Morgan County, Georgia, about nine miles from the home where they were believed to have broken into to change clothes, authorities said Wednesday.

The two men were cellmates and friends in prison, and may have planned their escape; however, the bus ride Tuesday morning was unscheduled, officials said.

At the time of the shooting, 31 other inmates were on board the bus, which was en route to a diagnostic facility when the escape took place. Those inmates have provided assistance to investigators, officials said.

Rowe is serving life without parole for armed robbery, the department of corrections said, and Dubose is serving a 20-year sentence for armed robbery.

The slain Baldwin State Prison officers were Christopher Monica, 42, who was hired in 2009, and Curtis Billue, 58, who was hired in 2007, Georgia Corrections said.

"Both officers were known for their unwavering commitment to their job and their love of family," the Georgia Department of Corrections said in a statement.

Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Gregory Dozier said, "Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of two of our officers, who are our family, and our priority is to locate these fugitives and bring them to justice for this heinous act against those working to protect the public."

ABC News' Steve Osunsami and Will Gretsky contributed to this report.