Background: Lafayette County Detention Center (Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office). Inset left: Christina Willis (Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office). Inset right: Mark Montgomery (Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office).
A woman currently incarcerated for allegedly attempting murder with a homemade bomb formulated a plan to escape with the aid of a man, according to Mississippi authorities.
Christina Willis, 27, was initially charged with attempted murder and possession of a bomb, explosive, or weapon of mass destruction earlier this month. Not long after, both she and Mark Montgomery, 48, faced additional charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, as reported by the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office to Law&Crime.
The incident dates back to earlier this summer when deputies received a call on June 20 regarding a “suspicious package found on a vehicle” in southwest Lafayette County, situated in the northern region of The Magnolia State.
“The package was removed by the victim and secured by deputies,” stated the sheriff’s office, further noting that, with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives three days afterward, bomb technicians analyzed the package and verified it “contained a live, homemade explosive device.”
Investigators set out looking for leads and forensic evidence, and they developed a suspect: Willis.
As per the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office, a search warrant executed on Aug. 4 at Willis’s residence on Highway 35 South in Panola County—Lafayette County’s western neighbor—uncovered “evidence of bomb-making materials, homemade high explosive substances, firearms, and narcotics,” including “another explosive device.”
It is not clear what relationship, if any, Willis had with the alleged victim, nor what motive law enforcement officials believe she had in allegedly making and planting the bomb.
Willis was arrested and placed in the Panola County Jail before being transferred to the Lafayette County Detention Center — but she didn’t plan to stay there long, according to authorities.
The Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office told Law&Crime its investigators were contacted by employees at the detention center on Thursday about “a plan for an escape attempt.” As they started digging, they learned more about the plot, and believed a man – Montgomery – was involved.
On Thursday, Montgomery was given a $50,000 bond. He is being held in the Lafayette County Detention Center and is expected to also be charged federally.
Willis could face federal charges too, after the ATF presents the case to a federal grand jury. She is being held “pending a bond hearing for her original charges.” The specific details into how she allegedly planned to escape were not released.
Lafayette County Sheriff Joey East said following Willis’ initial arrest that he was “very proud of the way all of our local, state, and federal agencies worked together during this investigation.”
