1 of 4 who escaped federal prison satellite camp surrenders

Associated Press
Updated ·2 min read
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HOPEWELL, Va. (AP) — One of four inmates who escaped from a federal prison's satellite camp in Virginia over the weekend has turned himself in, officials announced Monday.

Kevin Connolly, a supervisor with the U.S. Marshals Service Capital Regional Fugitive Task Force, said Tavaraes Lajuane Graham showed up at the satellite camp of the Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg in Hopewell, Virginia, early Sunday, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

Inmates Corey Branch, Lamonte Rashawn Willis and Kareem Allen Shaw are still at large. Investigators are following up on leads on the remaining escapees, Connolly said. The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $2,000 per escapee for information leading to their capture, he said.

The four men were discovered missing from the satellite camp in Hopewell, Virginia, around 1:45 a.m. Saturday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a news release Saturday morning. They left around 10 p.m. Friday, "so they had a couple of hours before they were detected,” Connolly said.

Bureau officials did not release any details about how the inmates escaped the minimum-security facility that houses 185 male offenders but said an internal investigation has been initiated.

Graham, 44, was sentenced in the Eastern District of North Carolina to 10 years for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 28 grams or more of cocaine base, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Branch, 41, was sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia to more than 13 years for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and felon in possession of a firearm. Willis, 30, was sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia to 18 years for possessing and concealing a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Shaw, 46, was sentenced in the Western District of Virginia to more than 16 years for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a measurable quantity of heroin.