Authorities recapture 2 escapees from Augusta Transitional Center

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Authorities chased down and caught two escapees and took them into custody Thursday morning in Richmond County.

At 10:41 a.m., the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office got an alert about a black Toyota Tacoma linked to two escaped inmates from the Georgia Department of Corrections.

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They’d failed to return to the Augusta Transitional Center from their place of employment at 9 p.m. Wednesday and the vehicle was reported stolen in Richmond County, according to authorities.

A Columbia deputy spotted the vehicle headed east on Washington Road at Davis Road and followed it to Shartom Drive in Richmond County, where additional deputies from Columbia and Richmond counties as well as U.S. Marshals Services officers converged.

A felony takedown was performed, and the driver, George Carter, 58, and front passenger Matthew Connelly, 30, were taken into custody without incident, according to authorities.

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The vehicle and both detainees were turned over to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshals Service.

While officers were apprehending the escapees, the driver of the truck shifted it into reverse and it rolled into the front of a Columbia County deputy’s patrol vehicle, but no one was injured and the patrol vehicle received minor front-end damage.

Carter is serving 10 years for burglary out of Clayton County with a maximum release date of October 2025.

Connelly is serving five years for aggravated battery out of Bulloch County with a maximum release date of July 2026.