A Batesville woman accused of making homemade explosives and trying to kill another person with one of the explosives is now facing an additional charge after allegedly trying to break free from jail.
Christina Willis, 27, is said to have plotted an escape from the Lafayette County Detention Center alongside another person, according to the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office. Willis and Mark Montgomery, 48, of Greenville, were both charged with conspiracy to escape custody.
Law enforcement said they received a tip on Aug. 14 that Willis and Montgomery were orchestrating a plan to escape, catching the pair before they could execute the plan.
Willis was arrested Aug. 5 after a weeks-long investigation into a bomb being discovered and detonated in Lafayette County. On June 20, the sheriff’s office responded to a report of a suspicious package discovered on a vehicle. The package was removed by the intended victim and turned over to investigators.
With help from the Tupelo Bomb Squad and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, technicians removed a live explosive device from inside the package and rendered it safe in a secure area.
A joint investigation between local, state, and federal agencies eventually led to a home connected to Willis on Highway 35 South in Panola County. Through a search warrant, investigators located evidence of bomb-making materials, homemade high explosive substances, firearms, and narcotics. Another fully-built explosive device was found inside the residence and safely detonated by bomb technicians.
Willis was subsequently arrested and charged with attempted murder and planting a bomb or explosive device. Her escape charge was added to the original case, for which she has yet to receive a bond hearing.
Montgomery, her alleged accomplice, was taken into custody and issued a $50,000 bond.
