Three Prisoners, Two Accused of Murder, Escape from Alabama Jail

Dec 13 (Reuters) - Two men jailed on capital murder charges and another for armed robbery escaped an Alabama jail early on Saturday after tackling and choking a guard, a county sheriff said.

The three escaped from the jail in the rural southwestern town of Butler after jumping the guard, who came into a shared cell to check on an inmate who was vomiting, Choctaw County Sheriff Tom Abate said. They stole the jailer's keys and mobile phone, then fled on foot.

"They are considered extremely dangerous. They really don't have anything to lose," Abate said.

Two of the men were jailed on capital murder charges that could carry a death sentence, and the third inmate was charged with armed robbery, Abate said. All three were awaiting trial.

Law enforcement officers with dogs tracked the men a few hundred yards to a bank parking lot in Butler, where they lost the trail.

"We assume they got in a vehicle, either had one planted or someone picked them up," Abate said.

The jailer, who was tackled and choked during the struggle, was treated at a hospital and released, Abate said.

Local media identified the escapees as Justin Terrell Gordon and Demarcus Woodard, both 23, and 32-year-old Germayel Culbert. (Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)