A manhunt continues Tuesday for the Georgia inmate authorities say walked away from a work detail in Carroll County on Monday morning.
Tommy Shane Morton was working on a road crew in the area of East Ranchette Road and Taylors Ginn Road before he walked off around 9:30 a.m., Carroll County Prison Warden Robert Jones told AJC.com. Sheriff’s deputies, U.S. marshals and state officers with the Georgia Department of Corrections are helping in the search.
Teams searched through the night and continue Tuesday morning combing the Temple area in the northern part of the county. The U.S. Marshals Service is now offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to Morton’s capture.
“We were able to set up a perimeter, which we hold right now,” Jones said. “There's nothing that leads us to believe that he’s left the area at this time. Right now, we're just kind of holding.”
Morton is serving a 10-year sentence for manufacturing marijuana and theft by taking out of Coffee County. According to online records, he has been in and out of prison since 1996, mostly for property crimes and theft in Coffee and Jeff Davis counties.
With his latest stint, Morton has been in state custody since December 2018.
“There is nothing in his criminal history that would suggest violence, but human behavior is unpredictable,” Jones said. “With that being said, it's a big step when somebody goes through the process of an escape. It’s a thought process, and oftentimes it’s a desperate process.”
Jones is warning anyone who may spot Morton not to approach him and to call 911. He is described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall weighing 150 pounds. He has brown hair and was last seen wearing his state-issued orange shirt, white pants with a blue stripe down each leg and black work boots.
“Let us handle the situation; don’t approach the individual,” Jones said. “Hopefully we can make this end as soon as possible, as peacefully as possible, and everybody will get to go home.”
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