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Multiple Detainees Escape from Dilapidated North Carolina Jail

Loaded on July 1, 2026 by Jo Ellen Nott published in Prison Legal News July, 2026, page 41
Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Staffing, Jail Specific, Security Systems, Criminal Justice, Prison Conditions. Location: North Carolina.

by Jo Ellen Knott

On June 3, 2026, two detainees escaped from the Vance County Jail, a dilapidated facility in a rural area about 45 miles north of Raleigh. As detainees Michael Miles Jr., 33, and LiShawn Knott, 21, fled out of the jail, they were captured on video running down a hallway in orange jumpsuits.

The detainees’ escape prompted a multi-agency search in which the FBI promised a $400,000 award for their capture; six days later, the two men, who were being held on drug and firearm charges, were found at a home in Asheville nearly 250 miles away from the Vance County Jail. While investigators claim the escape was made possible by outside assistance, the failing structural conditions within the jail certainly aided the two men.

Inspection records obtained by WRAL in Raleigh show that the jail was rife with broken or missing locks, defective doors and holes in its walls. On top of its physical condition, the jail, which locked up around 64 detainees as of December, was also understaffed and not adequately supervised. Despite the abundant warning signs, county commissioners delayed constructing a proposed $70 million replacement lockup due to the high cost.

In late June, another detainee at the jail, Mahlon Hebron, nearly succeeded in an escape attempt after gaining access to keys, accessing the roof and trying to jump over two exterior fences. Hebron did not make the jump and was soon found between the fences by guards.  

 

Source: WRAL

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