Authorities are searching for 30-year-old Ramone Alston, who escaped from North Carolina Department of Adult Correction custody early Tuesday.
A man convicted of shooting a 1-year-old girl in 2015 escaped from custody early Tuesday morning while on his way to a medical appointment in North Carolina, officials said.
Federal, state and local authorities are currently searching for 30-year-old Ramone Jamarr Alston, who escaped from North Carolina Department of Adult Correction custody around 7 a.m. Tuesday. Alston was receiving medical treatment at UNC Hospital in Hillsborough when he broke free of shackles and ran into the adjacent woods, the agency said in a statement.
Officers said he was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt, brown pants and white New Balance sneakers. Alston was also wearing handcuffs attached to a waist chain at the time of the incident.
The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction announced Tuesday afternoon that the agency is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to Alston’s capture.
“There is someone out there who knows where Alston is,” North Carolina Department of Corrections Secretary Todd Ishee said in a statement. “We hope this reward will provide them with the critical information that will lead to Alston’s arrest.”
Authorities have advised residents to report suspicious activity and keep doors, vehicles and windows locked. “If anyone sees Alston, please do not approach,” the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction warned.
Authorities had previously announced on Tuesday that a “large-scale ground search” for Alston was continuing within a one to three kilometer radius of the hospital grounds.
Orange County Emergency Services Director Kirby Saunders said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon that multiple law enforcement agencies were involved in the search, including 114 personnel. Authorities are covering up to 580 acres (about 1 mile) around UNC Hospital’s Hillsborough campus, Saunders added.
“While our primary goal is to determine Alston’s whereabouts, it is also imperative to determine where he is not,” Saunders said in a statement. “Efforts will continue until Alston is in custody.”
After Alston’s escape, UNC Hospital’s Hillsborough campus was locked down until about 8:30 a.m. and security was increased during the incident, WTVD reported. Durham Technical Community College’s campus in Orange County was also locked down and classes were canceled Tuesday, according to a campus-wide alert.
Authorities said personnel were focused on thoroughly searching the areas near the hospital, residential areas and the forest.
“We have very little information or credible evidence to tell us where this individual is, and tonight we hope to find out where he is not,” Saunders said at the press conference. “That is our main focus right now. First, to reassure the public that they are safe and there is no immediate threat or danger to them.”
Alston is serving a life sentence at the Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor, about 150 miles east of Hillsborough. Authorities say he was found guilty of shooting 1-year-old Maleah Williams in Chapel Hill on Christmas Day 2015.
Local news outlets reported that Alston was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2018 and sentenced to life in prison.
The girl’s mother, Tylena Williams, told WTVD in 2019 that Maleah was shot in the head while playing with a group of children outside her sponsors’ apartment. According to Spectrum News, Alston and his friend Pierre Je Bron Moore opened fire on the apartment complex in a drive-by shooting.
Both Alston and Moore took a plea deal, and Moore was sentenced to 28 to 34 years in prison in 2019, according to WTVD.
