Virginia jail break: Four inmates on drug charges escape from federal prison
On the early morning of Saturday, June 18, four prisoners, Corey Branch, Tavares Lajuane Graham, Lamonte Rashawn Willis and Kareem Allen Shaw escaped from a federal prison's satellite camp in Virginia. The officials came to the realization after finding them missing from the Federal Correctional Complex at around 1.45 am. An urgent search was launched by US Marshals amid fears that the men could have just walked out of the low-security facility.
The bureau did not release any information about how they were able to escape the camp, which houses 185 male offenders, and did not shed any light on if they escaped together. As per NY Post, an internal probe has been initiated, and the US Marshals Service, FBI and other law enforcement agencies have been notified.
READ MORE
Parents of Virginia girl raped in school bathroom ask judge to spare 'skirt-wearing' teen
Ashten Teets: Virginia mom caught on camera shoving fingers down infant’s throat in horrific abuse
Four federal inmates escaped this morning from FCC Petersburg’s camp in Virginia. The Bureau of Prisons says it notified the US Marshals, FBI and other law enforcement agencies. BOP has faced scrutiny in recent years for allowing inmates to simply walk away from its prison camps. pic.twitter.com/xbz3TWUp2u
— Mike Balsamo (@MikeBalsamo1) June 18, 2022
Description of the inmates
As per the details by the bureau, the 41-year-old Corey Branch is a black male with black hair and brown eyes, whose height is 5′8″, weighing approximately 200 lbs. Tavares Lajuane Graham, 44, is a black man with black hair, and brown eyes, who is 6′2″, weighing around 245 lbs. Lamonte Rashawn Willis, 30, is also a black man with brown eyes, 6′2″ tall, weighing approximately 165 lbs, while the 46-year-old Kareem Allen Shaw is a black man with black hair, brown eyes, who is 5′8′ tall. He weighs around 167 lbs.
Charges against the inmates
As per The Sun, Corey has been sentenced to 160 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Graham is sentenced to 120 months for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 28 grams or more of cocaine base, and for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Willis, on the other hand, has been sentenced to 216 months of imprisonment for possessing and concealing a stolen firearm and for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and Shaw has been sentenced to 194 months for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a measurable quantity of heroin.
This incident is among the latest in a growing trend of lapses at low-security lockups throughout the United States. In mid-June last year, a report mentioned the escape of 29 inmates over the past 18 months from federal prisons across the US. At one Texas lockup, security was so lax that local law enforcement officials privately joked about its open-door policy.
Anyone with information about these men should contact the United States Marshals Service at 804-545-8501.