Killer who escaped from Mississippi prison is recaptured after manhunt, authorities say
Authorities in Mississippi said Wednesday that a convicted killer has been recaptured a day after he escaped from prison. They had warned the public earlier that Drew Johnson, 33, could be "desperate" and "very dangerous."
The Mississippi Department of Corrections said Johnson was captured "in an area near the South Mississippi Correctional Institution (SMCI), where he escaped on Tuesday afternoon." SMCI is located near the town of Leakesville.
In a Facebook post Tuesday night, the George County Sheriff's Office urged the public to be cautious. "He will be desperate and very very dangerous. Call your family and alert them. Send messages to them and get responses. People tend to be more generous during Christmas and let their guard down. Be vigilant and be careful," the statement said.
Johnson was convicted of homicide/murder in February 2022 in Rankin County, Mississippi, and sentenced to a life term.
According to a 2022 statement from the District Attorney's Office in Shelby County, Tennessee, while Johnson was awaiting trial in the Mississippi case he pleaded guilty to multiple crimes in Shelby County, including the 2016 stabbing death of a man whose body was found in southwest Memphis and the attempted murder of a fellow prisoner in the Shelby County Jail.