Mississippi jailbreak suspect, 22, who ‘killed a pastor’ after daring escape is dead

One of the four men who daringly broke out of a Mississippi jail and allegedly killed a pastor hours later was killed in a two-hour police standoff.

Dylan Arrington, 22, died during the confrontation  after cops tracked him to a home he barricaded himself in. The property caught fire soon after the police standoff in Leake County, Mississippi – and it’s unclear if he died by gunfire or the blaze.

He was one of the inmates – along with Casey Grayson, 24, Gorey Harrison, 22, and Jerry Raynes – who escaped the Raymond Detention Center on Saturday. Police are still searching for the three other escapees. 

Arrington was also suspected of killing pastor Anthony Watts, 61, on Monday, after his bold flight from prison. The inmate allegedly stole a motorcycle, crashed it, and then killed Watts – who had stopped on the road to help him after his collision. 

Police say Arrington shot the Good Samaritan and then sped away in his red Dodge Ram truck.

During the police shootout on Wednesday morning, Arrington shot a deputy before being hit himself. It’s unclear how the house ended up engulfed in flames. 

Images from the scene show the structure ablaze – as the inferno gutted the entire building and burned its roof completely down.  

Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said Wednesday: ‘We have a pretty strong feeling that it is him inside this residence that is deceased.

‘While the house was engulfed in flames, we do believe he did retreat to another side of the residence and he did begin firing out a window on the other side of the residence, and that’s when law enforcement agencies returned fire. 

‘We believe that the individual was possibly struck, but of course, we don’t have that information right now. Whether he died by gunfire or whether he died as a result of the fire, that is to be determined.’

Leake County Sheriff Randy Atkinson said that after cops tracked him to the house, a deputy, Investigator Horn, checked the premises and came running out of the residence shouting that Arrington was indeed inside. 

‘That’s when the individual started shooting from inside the residence and shot my deputy,’ Atkinson confirmed. 

The deputy, who was shot in the lower right leg, is in hospital but is believed to be in a stable condition. 

The 7.10am police confrontation with Arrington lasted two hours before it was resolved, cops confirmed this afternoon.  

The four inmates escaped from the jail through breaches in a cell and in the roof on Saturday – and it was only at a headcount at 12:30am on Sunday that officials realized they were missing.

Arrington had originally been in jail for on charges of auto theft and gun possession.

His alleged killing of Watts, who was the pastor at St. Mary’s Missionary Baptist Church in D’Lo, Mississippi, occurred at 7pm on Monday. 

In July, a federal judge ordered a rare takeover of the jail that the inmates escaped from, after he said deficiencies in supervision and staffing led to ‘a stunning array of assaults, as well as deaths.’ 

In December, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed that order after the county filed a motion for reconsideration. 

Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said in a statement: ‘We are actively and aggressively looking for these individuals, and we hope to have them back in custody soon.

‘We are seeking the assistance of other agencies, including our federal partners, to get them back into custody as quickly as possible.’

He warned the public: ‘Be extra cautious, be vigilant of anything that appears to be suspicious.’

As of Wednesday morning, the three other inmates were still on the loose.  They were all in prison on a variety of felony charges, most involving theft.