EATONTON — A Putnam County grand jury has indicted a pair of Georgia prison inmates in connection with the June 13 shooting deaths of two state corrections officers during an escape from a state prison transport bus.

Grand jurors returned a six-count indictment Monday against Ricky Allen Dubose and Donnie Russell Rowe Jr., according to court documents obtained from Putnam County Superior Court Clerk Sheila H. Perry by The Union-Recorder.

The two men were each indicted separately on two counts of murder, two counts of felony murder, one count of escape, and one count of hijacking of a motor vehicle, court records show.

Dubose, 24, and Rowe, 43, both of whom are serving prison sentences for previous convictions on assorted criminal charges, are accused of shooting to death Curtis Billue, 58, of Milledgeville and Christopher James “Chris” Monica, 42, also of Milledgeville.

Billue was driving the bus on the morning of the escape, while Monica was sitting in the passenger’s seat in the front of the bus at the time of the daylight escape on Ga. Route 16 between Long Shoals and Texas Chapel roads in Putnam County.

Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Stephen A. Bradley publicly said after the inmates were captured in Rutherford County, Tennessee three days later that the state plans to seek the death penalty against both inmates, who are now being held at the Jackson Diagnostic and Classification Center in Butts County.

Bradley presented the case to grand jurors along with assistance from Assistant District Attorney Wright Barksdale.

Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, who spearheaded a nationwide search for the inmates following their escape, testified before the grand jury about the case.

In returning the six-count indictment, grand jurors contend that Sgt. Billue and Sgt. Monica were both shot to death with their Glock 9 mm state-issued pistols during what they called intentional escape from lawful custody.

The hijacking charges against Dubose and Rowe stem from them having reportedly used the same guns they shot the state corrections officers with to forcibly steal a Honda Civic from Putnam County resident Phillip Beasley.

After stealing the car, the escapees are believed to have immediately fled Putnam County. They later drove to Madison where authorities contend they broke into a house and stole clothing and food. They then stole a pickup truck and made their getaway into Tennessee, where they eventually surrendered to authorities following a high-speed chase in which gunshots were fired at deputies from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.

It initiated a manhunt — one that ended a short time later when Dubose and Rowe decided to surrender to a resident standing in the yard of his residence nearby.

During the intensive manhunt for the escapees, Sills called in the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to help in tracking down Dubose and Rowe.

Gov. Nathan Deal also made available state law enforcement assistance in finding the two men when they still were considered fugitives.