KINGSTON, Tenn. - A state prison inmate escaped Tuesday after his wife opened fire and killed a correctional officer escorting him outside the Roane County Courthouse, authorities said.
An extensive search was under way for the pair, identified as George and Jennifer Hyatte, and authorities were trying to determine if a second man, who may be an accomplice, was escaping with them, Sheriff David Haggard said.
The officer, Wayne "Cotton" Morgan, was shot in the stomach and died after he was airlifted to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, about 30 miles east, hospital spokeswoman Lisa McNeal said.
George Hyatte was two years into a 35-year sentence at Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex for aggravated robbery and aggravated assault, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Amanda Sluss said.
Chris Cawood, an attorney who was in court right before Hyatte's case, said the inmate was there to plead guilty in a deal with prosecutors over an armed robbery charge. Cawood said two spectators in the courtroom ran out as soon as Hyatte entered his plea.
Jennifer Hyatte allegedly opened fire as George Hyatte and other prisoners were being loaded into a vehicle.
Wife fired several times at officers
George Hyatte was handcuffed and shackled at the feet, Roane County Emergency Management Agency spokesman Scott Stout said.
Kingston police Chief Jim Washam said Jennifer Hyatte was armed with a handgun and fired several times.
Witness C.G. Gray said he and his wife were walking behind the prisoners as they left the courthouse and were in the parking lot about 50 feet away when they heard shots. Gray said Morgan, who wasn't wearing a protective vest, never got his gun out of his holster but another guard, whose name wasn't immediately available, did return fire.
Several vehicles in the parking lot were struck by the shots and their windows were shattered.
Haggard said one of the fugitives also may have been shot.
Authorities found blood in a Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle the pair used to make their getaway and then abandoned a half-mile away in Roane County, he said.
‘Possibility' inmate or wife may be injured
"So there's a possibility somebody in there is injured," Haggard said.
George Hyatte, 34, was described as 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 140 pounds. No description of Jennifer Hyatte was given.
Hyatte, who has a history of burglary convictions, was serving two consecutive 15-year sentences for robbery charges and a five-year sentence on top of that for assault, Sluss said.
Helicopters were circling over the town of about 6,000 people, which Stout called "small town USA." Schools were locked down, roads around the courthouse were closed and the courthouse was cordoned off with police tape.
"It's a full-blown investigation and a full-blown search," Stout said