Inmate escapes, then caught in hotel

Fugitive Ramone Alston captured, ending days-long manhunt

The manhunt for Ramone Alston, the escaped prisoner convicted of first-degree murder, ended early Friday when authorities captured him at a hotel in Kannapolis, NC.

• NCDAC: "Alston will be charged with felony escape and returned to a high-security unit."

An accomplice, Jacobia Crisp, was also arrested and charged with aiding a fugitive. DAC Secretary Todd Ishee said:

I am grateful to our DAC staff and thankful for...public safety officers...This was an incredible collaborative effort.

Alston escaped on Tuesday while being taken to a Hillsborough hospital. He was serving a life sentence for the 2015 Christmas Day murder of 1-year-old Maleah Williams in Chapel Hill. Local news: Alston and an accomplice opened fire in a drive-by shooting.

Alston and an accomplice were convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2018. The accomplice took a plea deal in 2019.