Escaped murderer captured at Kannapolis hotel

KANNAPOLIS — A convicted murderer who escaped from correction officers in Orange County on Tuesday morning as he was arriving for a medical appointment has been recaptured at a hotel in Kannapolis.

Ramone Alston, 30, was captured shortly before 2 a.m. Friday at a hotel on Cloverleaf Parkway in Kannapolis, in an operation that included FBI Charlotte SWAT agents, Kannapolis Police and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police. He was taken into custody without injuries to anyone. Since his escape, hundreds of law enforcement and public safety officials have been involved in the search for him.

Shortly after his arrest, a female acquaintance, Jacobia Crisp, was arrested in Alamance County and charged with felony aiding and abetting a fugitive.

Alston escaped a transport van as it arrived at the UNC Gastroenterology Hospital in Hillsborough. At the time of his escape, officials said he was “wearing handcuffs connected to a belly chain with a black box over the junction.” Initially a $50,000 reward was being offered for information leading to his recapture. Gov. Roy Cooper authorized a $30,000 reward from the state, the United States Marshals Service provided $10,000 and the FBI provided $10,000.

Alston was convicted of murder in the death of 1-year-old Maleah Williams, who was shot in a drive-by shooting on Christmas Day in 2015. She had been playing outside her family’s home in Chapel Hill. She died three days after being shot. Alston has been serving a life sentence for that conviction at Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor.

Alston will be charged with felony escape from prison, and is being taken to a high-security unit in the state prison system to resume serving his life sentence for first degree murder and await court appearances for his escape charges. Investigators are still working to determine Alston’s movements since his escape and if he may have committed other crimes while on the run. They are also looking into any other possible accomplices.

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