Four jail inmates in Lexington, Mississippi have been accused of breaking out to burglarize a business and then return to their cells, according to Mississippi News Now.
MS News Now on Tuesday reported that the incident began at the Holmes-Humphreys County Correctional Facility.
Travis Baker, Maurice Robertson, Levontaye Ellington and Jacquiez Williams allegedly escaped their cells before jumping the jail’s fence.
The group is then accused of walking less than a mile to a Dollar General and stealing multiple items to sell in jail after their return.
Some Twitter users on Wednesday mocked the incident, which was reportedly discovered due to surveillance footage at the business.
How you break out of jail just to sneak back in 😂
— Oct4♿️Day🌀 (@favLIGHTSKIN_) September 20, 2017
Man these dudes broke out of jail to break in dollar general to steal then snuck back in the jail 😂
— C-Money (@SneakerCed) September 20, 2017
3 men break out of jail/rob a Dollar General/then breaks back in. I can't make this stuff up. https://t.co/cszhz8rPyJ
— Selfish357 (@Selfish357) September 19, 2017
Lexington police say surveillance video from the night of the burglary shows the four men breaking in after hours and nabbing anything and everything they could lay hands on.
“They stole cigarettes, cigarette lighters, phones and just items they felt they could sell in jail,” said Police Chief Robert Kirklin.
“You already in jail, but you want to break out and break back in?” he asked. “That is just something. I heard it all.”
Kirklin added that the quartet snuck back into jail unnoticed after grabbing the items rather than making an escape instead.
The police chief also noted that surveillance footage from the incident was critical in identifying the four inmates.
“[It was] just looking at the type of clothing they had on and just one of the bags they had put some of the merchandize in,” he said. “Crimes don’t pay.”
Holmes County Sheriff Willie March on Tuesday confirmed that the escape had happened before noting the facility is being re-secured and its safeguards boosted.
MS News Now reported that some of the stolen items were recovered and all four inmates are being charged with commercial burglary.