Let us not
forget Sergeant Curtis Billue of the Georgia DOC who was fatally shot on June
13, 2017 by two inmates. Let us also remember his colleague, Christopher Monica
who was died together with him. Let us honor this fallen policeman by
remembering how he lived on this earth and treasure his memories.
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Sergeant Curtis Bernard Billue
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Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia End of Watch Tuesday, June 13, 2017 |
Sergeant Curtis Bernard Billue
Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia
End of Watch: Tuesday,
June 13, 2017
Bio
Age: 58
Tour: 10
years
Badge: Not
available
Military
Veteran
Incident Details
Cause: Gunfire
Weapon: Officer's
handgun
Offender: In
custody
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Sergeant Curtis Bernard Billue
|
Georgia Department
of Corrections, Georgia End of Watch
Tuesday, June 13, 2017 [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/memoriam-correctional-sergeant-curtis-billue/] |
Curtis Bernard Billue
Sergeant Curtis Billue and Sergeant Christopher Monica were shot and killed after being attacked by two inmates in Putnam County, Georgia.
The officers were transporting 33 prisoners between Hancock State Prison and
Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison at approximately 5:45 am. Two of
the inmates attacked the officers as the transport bus drove along Route 16,
between Eatonton and Sparta. One of the inmates was able to disarm one of the
officers and then shot them both. The prisoners stole both officers' service
weapons and carjacked a passing car before fleeing.
Both subjects fled the scene and remained at large for several days. On June
15th, 2017, they were captured in Rutherford County, Tennessee, following a
vehicle pursuit in which they fired at two deputies. The men fled to a nearby
home in an attempt to steal another vehicle but were captured by the homeowner
and a neighbor who held them at gunpoint until responding officers took them
into custody.
Sergeant Billue had served with the Georgia Department of Corrections for 10
years. He is survived by his two sons, parents, and eight siblings.
INTERNET SOURCE:
https://www.odmp.org/officer/23275-sergeant-curtis-bernard-billue
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Sergeant Curtis Billue
and Sergeant Christopher Monica |
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This combo of undated
photos provided Tuesday, June 13, 2017, by the Georgia Department of
Corrections shows inmate Ricky Dubose, left, and Donnie Russell Rowe. A Georgia
sheriff said officers were "desperately" searching Tuesday for the
two inmates who somehow got through a gate inside a prison bus, killed two
guards and got away. (Georgia Department of Corrections via AP) |
'Furious': Family, law enforcement community waits for accused cop killers to face trial
by Claire Helm
Saturday, May 15th 2021
PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. -- On what would have been Sgt. Curtis Billue's 62nd birthday, a tentative timeframe for a trial was announced for one of the two men accused in the officer's 2017 murder.
Sgt. Curtis Billue and Sgt. Christopher Monica were correctional officers who were shot and killed on a Georgia State Prison bus traveling on Highway 16 between Eatonton and Sparta in June 2017.
Officials said the two inmates accused in the murders -- Donnie Russell Rowe and Ricky Dubose -- overpowered the officers, took their guns, fatally shot them, and then escaped. A manhunt followed and Rowe and Dubose were captured in Tennessee days later.
RELATED: Putnam Co. residents breathe a sigh of relief after fugitives' capture
Now, nearly four years after the officers' deaths, we've learned that Ricky Dubose's trial -- in which he faces the death penalty along with Rowe -- could begin in the first quarter of 2022.
Dubose previously pleaded not guilty in the case.
The time that it's taken for this case to move forward has frustrated Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills.
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Ricky Dubose, one of two
suspects accused in the murders of Georgia correctional officers Sgt. Curtis
Billue and Christopher Monica, has a court hearing on May 14, 2021/Source:
Perry Smith (WGXA News)
MORE: Death penalty trial delayed in Georgia prison guard killings
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills talks about his frustration with the amount of time preparing for this case has taken/Source: Perry Smith (WGXA News)
"Tomorrow morning is law enforcement memorial day in this country," said Sheriff Sills. "And we've used the COVID excuse, but law enforcement works every day, 24 hours a day. We don't understand why somebody else can't work on Saturday or Sunday. It's a very frustrating thing, especially given tomorrow's date."
MORE: State to seek death penalty for escaped
inmates accused of killing correctional officers
Billue's sister, Denise Billue, has been outspoken in getting justice for her late brother. She tells us that, not only would he have turned 62-years-old today, but he also would have retired from the Georgia Department of Corrections yesterday.
Billue says part of the family's coping process has been to not focus on court dates, since they can and do often change. She says instead, Curtis Billue's loved ones rely on their faith.
"Giving us trial dates and having trial dates, it doesn't sustain you because that changes all the time. But our faith stays constant," she said. "Our parents instilled that in us, and that has helped us through that process. And one of my favorite scriptures is, suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope."
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Denise Billue speaks
with WGXA outside of the Putnam County Courthouse on May 14, 2021 about the
upcoming trial for her brother's murder/Source: Perry Smith (WGXA News)
What the family does know, says Billue, is that the facts and Curtis's character are the same four years later -- two things that haven't changed in an uncertain process.
RELATED: Saying goodbye to Sergeant Curtis Billue
"Over the course of the four years, the roller coaster ride that we have gone through, is that even though we've been told that the trial is upcoming, in your mind and in your heart you know that anything can happen, and it might not happen," she said.
If her brother were alive today he'd be helping care for their dad. Billue says her family feels more pain now because reality has set in and her brother would have had the chance to be a retired law enforcement officer, able to live the rest of his life.
Denise Billue speaks with WGXA outside of the Putnam County Courthouse after a hearing for Ricky Dubose on May 14, 2021/Source: Perry Smith (WGXA News)
Sheriff Sills is hoping the case move faster at this point. He says that an important witness has even died.
"I think of pulling Mr. Monica's body out of that Jeep, and to see this individual sitting up there, relaxed...it's time to try this case," Sheriff Sills said. "I know that corrections officers all over the state are furious about how long this has taken."
INTERNET SOURCE: https://wgxa.tv/news/local/furious-family-law-enforcement-community-waits-for-accused-cop-killers-to-face-trial
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https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=114311844118147&id=101692122046786
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Those who allow violent criminals the opportunity to kill, maim and rape, share the responsibility for it and the tragedy such crimes produce. More, they allow these monsters to create for all of us a world as dark and evil as their own. |
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