Gallia County Sheriff/Facebook(CARY, N.C.) — Authorities in North Carolina have captured all four of the “extremely dangerous” inmates who escaped from an Ohio jail early Sunday morning.
Brynn K. Martin, 40, Christopher M. Clemente, 24, and Troy R. McDaniel Jr., 30, were apprehended early Monday morning in Cary, North Carolina, just west of Raleigh, according to Cary officials.
The fourth escapee, 29-year-old Lawrence R. Lee III, remained at-large until Monday when he was taken into custody in Durham, Gallia County Sheriff Matt Champlin said.
“I would like to thank the hard working law enforcement professionals who have tirelessly dedicated themselves to providing an end to the search for these escapees,” Champlin said in a statement. “Additionally, I want to thank everyone who has shown support for my office and our law enforcement across this great nation. Everyday, our jobs become tougher and more dangerous.”
The four men broke out of the Gallia County Jail in Gallipolis, Ohio, when they overpowered two female corrections officers and forced open a secured door just after midnight on Sunday.
The men were armed with at least one homemade weapon — a shank — and received assistance from at least one person on the outside, investigators said.
All are considered “extremely dangerous,” according to authorities.
Cary police said they were notified by the North Carolina Highway Patrol shortly before 2 a.m. Monday that the four fugitives were believed to be in the area of a Red Roof Inn. Responding officers captured three of the four men without incident, police said.
The four inmates made their escape from the Gallia County facility by gaining access to the administrative wing of the jail, where they stole the keys to one of the corrections officer’s vehicles and drove about a block away, where another vehicle was waiting for them, Gallia County Sheriff Matt Champlin told reporters at a press conference Sunday afternoon.
That vehicle was found later Sunday in Pennsylvania, Champlin said. At the time, Pennsylvania State Police tweeted that they had reason to believe that Clemente was in the area of the Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg.
Clemente was serving time for drug trafficking, Martin was incarcerated for breaking and entering and receiving stolen property, McDaniel was serving time for non-support of dependents and Lee was in jail for assault and identity fraud, authorities said.
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