Reward For Former Deputy Charged With Double Murder Increases To $10,000

DEKALB COUNTY --- DeKalb County authorities said Thursday they believe the family of a former DeKalb County sheriff's deputy wanted for a double murder helped with his escape and are assisting him financially.

Sheriff Thomas Brown announced that a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Derrick Yancey has been increased to $10,000.

Yancey was arrested in August 2008 for the murder of his wife and a male worker at his home in Stone Mountain. He has been on the run since April 4th when he cut off his monitoring bracelet while on house arrest.

At a Thursday news conference, Brown released video of Yancey at the Greyhound Bus Station in downtown Atlanta, buying a ticket for Los Angeles.

Brown says authorities have determined that Yancey arrived in Dallas on April 5, took another bus to Amarillo, Texas, and then transferred to a bus that was scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on April 6. Brown says Yancey was spotted in Phoenix on April 6, which was one of the scheduled stops on the Los Angeles trip.

DeKalb County prosecutors contend Yancey plotted to make the murders look like a robbery.

Yancey told investigators that the worker shot and killed his wife, but police contend Yancey was actually the triggerman in both murders.

Authorities believe he has altered his appearance and may be living in Mexico off of $18,000 that he withdrew from his police pension.