'Somebody's gonna get killed again': Five juveniles escape from care center

TAYLOR COUNTY, Ga. --- Five juveniles escaped from the Georgia Center for Youth in Taylor County.

The escape happened late Sunday night.

The Taylor County Sheriff's Office posted a statement about it on their Facebook page on Monday, 1/11.

Sheriff Jeff Watson said that the juveniles were caught after being on the run for ten hours.

From the Facebook post, the five escapees stole a tractor and broke into and damaged a home.

This isn't the first time that escapees from the Georgia Center for Youth have caused trouble.

"You saw where we've had multiple, multiple escapes and damaged properties, burglaries. Twenty five, thirty years ago they killed a man in Reynolds. They escaped and killed a man," added Sheriff Watson.

Even though the juveniles were taken into custody again, only two were taken by the Department of Juvenile Justice.

"So guess what happens to the other three. Georgia law, I can't keep them in my jail for four hours. So guess what we have to do for those other three? Take them back to the Georgia Center for Youth," said Watson.

This is one of the main problems with the situation in Taylor County.

"The Department of Juvenile Justice won't take them. We're out here fighting this thing, but when you get them, because of the juveniles, the State won't do their part. So, that's why I want the Department of Juvenile Justice down here because they got to understand they got to do something with these kids."

A couple of attempts were made to get the perspective of the Georgia Center for Youth. On the last attempt, the Center said that they have no comment about the situation.

What does the community want done about the center?

"A lot of people in the county want it shut down," answered Sheriff Watson.

Now, the sheriff's office, Reynolds and Butler police departments, and state legislators are teaming up to solve the issue.

"State Representative Bentley, the Governor's office we're tentatively trying to set up a meeting for next Friday to bring, get some of the CEO people with the Georgia Center," explained the sheriff.

It's possible that since the Center is privately owned, but accepts state funding, that the center could be shut down by the state.

Sheriff Watson doesn't know if the state wants to consider that as a possibility.

Regardless, they're all hoping to find a way to keep juveniles from escaping and causing harm to Taylor County.

If the group meeting happens, stay tuned to WGXA for more updates.