2 women charged with helping DeKalb County Jail inmates escape

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Two women have been indicted for allegedly helping three DeKalb County Jail inmates escape last year.

Melayna Whatley, a 30-year-old from DeKalb County, and Gabriela Ortis, a 22-year-old from Miami, face charges of conspiracy to aid and assist escape, aiding and assisting an escape and harboring and concealing an escaped prisoner, according to the Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 3 inmates, including murder suspect, escape from DeKalb County Jail, sheriff says

“Every jailbreak puts the public at risk,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement. “Thankfully, quick action by numerous law enforcement agencies ensured the lightning-fast capture of the men who escaped from DeKalb County late last year. Now, the women who allegedly helped them bust free must face the consequences for unleashing terror into our community.”

In June 2025, Stevenson Charles was sentenced to life in prison for carjacking, kidnapping, robbery and brandishing a firearm in Florida. That December, the U.S. Marshals Service transferred him to DeKalb County Jail to face more state charges, including murder.

But on Dec. 21, 2025, Charles and fellow inmates Yusuf Minor and Noad Yohannes escaped from jail. Prosecutors believe Whatley made phone calls on Minor’s behalf to arrange a getaway driver and allowed the three into her Float Shoals Home, while Ortis allegedly hired them a Lyft.

Inside the Lyft, the three men allegedly restrained the driver by her neck, tied her up in the back seat and drove her car nearly 700 miles to Broward County, Florida. The inmates were captured and the woman was rescued the next day.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 3 escaped DeKalb County inmates captured after they took Lyft to Florida, kidnapped driver

Charles was found guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, Hobbs Act robbery and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon in February 2026.

A month later, Minor pled guilty to guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping and Hobbs Act robbery. In May, a federal jury found Yohannes guilty of those same crimes.

This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First as we learn more.