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Two men, known as “companies” of the suspects who committed the quadruple murders in Tennessee earlier this week, were arrested on suspicion of helping a fugitive, authorities said Saturday.
Special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation arrested Tanaka Brown on Friday and Jovonte Thomas on Saturday, the agency said.
Brown and Thomas, 29, from Jackson, were charged with accessories after the fact of first-degree murder, the department said in a statement. Brown is also facing one count of tampering with evidence.
Brown is being held unconfined at the Lake County Jail. Thomas was transferred there from the Madison County Jail, where he was held on charges of unrelated appearances, the department said.
The two men are accused of helping Austin Robert Drummond, 28, who remained massive on Saturday night. Authorities are searching for Drummond in connection with the four deaths in Tiptonville on Tuesday.
The four bodies were found after the infant was abandoned in a Dyer County car seat, causing a scramble to find Steven Sutton, a spokesman for the Lake and Dyer County Sheriff’s Office, the company said at a press conference Friday.
“The baby is safe and cared for,” Sutton said.
Drummond is charged with first-degree murder, inducement, inducement, possession of a firearm during a dangerous felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to the service of the former US S.
Drummond had bonds when the murder occurred, Danny Goodman, the district attorney for Dyer and Lake County, said Friday.
Goodman said he had been released in connection with an allegedly occurring prison incident.
It is not clear whether Drummond, Brown and Thomas maintain legal counsel. The public defense attorney’s office for the Judicial District covering Lake and Dyer counties was not available late Saturday to provide information.
Drummond is said to be armed and dangerous, and anyone who finds him was asked to call 911.
“Detention of Austin Drummond is a priority,” the former US s-service said.
Authorities said two vehicles related to Drummond have been found. The white 1988 Ford pickup with red side panels is in Dyer County on Saturday, with authorities asking anyone with truck security videos to send it to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Drummond’s White 2016 Audi A3 was abandoned Friday in Jackson, about 74 miles southeast of Tiptonville, the department said.
He is believed to be still in the Jackson area, Director David B. Rausch said Friday.
“There’s this community in this case,” Rausch said.
Jackson is about 87 miles northeast of Memphis.
Authorities previously identified the victim as Matthew Wilson, 21, the father of an abandoned child. Adrianna Williams, 20 years old, mother. Courtney Rose, 38 years old, maternal grandmother. Braydon Williams, 15 years old, maternal uncle.
Authorities have not said how they died, but have explained their deaths as a result of the murder.
“There is a family relationship between the suspect and his family,” Rausch said.
A relative of the victim said in a Facebook post Thursday that the suspect was “literally nothing but surprising to us and our children.” According to the post, Drummond had previously been on a date with Rose’s sisters.
Rausch said the suspect showed signs of compassion that would take the child off, so “there is hope that he could come and have a conversation about what happened.”
Janat Batra contributed.
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