NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The cousin of one of the four teens who ran away from the Juvenile Justice Center says he's outraged that he was able to escape.
Calvin Howse and Decorrius Wright were captured Tuesday night in Madison. Brandon Caruthers and Morris Marsh are still on the run.
Decorrius Wright's girlfriend was arrested Wednesday for allegedly helping him and Howse hide from police.
Advocate Clemmie Greenlee said it never should have happened. She's with the Nashville Peacemakers group.
"How did they get out that door?" asked Greenlee.
The 911 call made after the escape was released on Wednesday. Patrick Jones, the supervisor of Youth Opportunity Investments, which operates the detention facility, said in part, "What happened was they was spot cleaning, and they used the staff name, and they got on the elevator, and from there they just played it as the staff name, and just took off."
"For them to escape that easy, they didn't have to climb no fence, they didn't have to scale no wall, they just walked straight up out of there, said Howse's cousin Steven Anderson.
In 2018, he helped police arrest his cousin after he carjacked a 10-year-old who was holding car keys. He thought being detained would help turn his cousin's life around.
Anderson said, "He went from one placement home, to juvenile detention, to another placement home, and it's supposed to have been where he was having a safe transition to re-enter back into society."
Now, Howse could face more charges after the escape. Anderson said the juvenile crime problems are ridiculous.
"We need to declare this a national crisis," Anderson said.
Greenlee hopes changes will be made before an escape happens again.
"It's time for you to quit tying up your neck tie because you're looking too high, and start lacing your shoe up again, so you can look down here where we really at," said Greenlee.
Wright is accused of robbing and murdering musician Kyle Yorlets. The victim's mom issued the following statement:
We would like to say that we are thankful for the recapture of the perpetrator of our son's murder and want to express our utmost gratitude to the MNPD teams for their unrelenting efforts. We continue to pray that the remaining escapees will be found before more harm can be done.
