Two men described as “partners” of the suspect in a quadruple homicide in Tennessee earlier this week were arrested for suspicion of helping the fugitive, the authorities announced on Saturday.
Special agents of Tennessee Bureau of Investigation arrested Tanaka Brown on Friday and Giovonte Thomas on Saturday, the agency announced.
Brown and Thomas, 29 and Jackson, were accused of accessories after first -degree murder, the office said in a statement. Brown also faces an evidence falsification chief.
Brown is detained without surety in Lake County prison. Thomas will be transferred from Madison County prison, where he was detained for non-compliance with non-comparison, the office said.
The two men are accused of having helped Austin Robert Drummond, 28, who stayed on Saturday evening. The authorities searched Drummond in the death of four people on Tuesday in Tiptonville.
The four bodies were discovered after an infant was found abandoned in a car seat in the county of Dyer, triggering a race to find the tutors of the baby, Stephen Sutton, spokesperson for the sheriff’s offices in the counties of Lake and Dyer, at a press conference on Friday.
“The baby is safe and taken care of,” said Sutton.
Drummond was accused of four first degree, aggravated kidnapping, possession of a firearm in a dangerous crime and possession of a firearm by a condemned criminal, according to the American marshal service.
Drummond was on deposit when the murders took place, Danny Goodman, district prosecutor for Dyer and Lake Counties said on Friday.
He had been released on bail linked to an incident that would have taken place in prison, where he was serving an aggravated theft sentence, Goodman said.
It is not clear if Drummond, Brown or Thomas have retained a legal advisor. The public defender’s office for the judicial district which covers the counties of Lake and Dyer was not available to provide information on Saturday evening.
Drummond is described as armed and dangerous, and anyone who spots it was invited to call 911.
“Astin Drummond in detention is a priority,” said the US Marshals service.
Two vehicles associated with Drummond were found, the authorities said. A Ford pick-up in 1988 with red side panels was located on Saturday in Dyer County, and the authorities ask anyone who has the truck safety video to send it to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Drummond’s 2016 Audi A3 2016 was found abandoned on Friday in Jackson, about 74 miles southeast of Tiptonville, the office said.
He would still be in the Jackson region, the director of the office David B. Rausch said on Friday.
“This incident has this community on board,” said Rausch.
Jackson is around 87 miles northeast of Memphis.
The authorities previously identified the victims as Matthew Wilson, 21, the father of the abandoned child; Adrianna Williams, 20, the mother; Cortney Rose, 38, the maternal grandmother; And Braydon Williams, 15, the maternal uncle.
The authorities did not say how they died but described their death as the result of the murder.
“There is a family relationship between the suspect and the family,” said Rausch.
A parent of the victims said Thursday in an article on Facebook that the suspect had “literally been nothing less than us and our children”. According to the post, Drummond was previously with a sister from Rose.
Rausch said the suspect showed a sign of compassion – abandoning the child – so “there is hope so that he can come and have a conversation about what happened.”