Man Murdered 1-Year-Old, Then Escaped Custody and Fled 100 Miles Before Capture in Hotel

Mar. 15, 2025

Ramone Alston.Photo:North Carolina Department of Adult Correction/Facebook

North Carolina Department of Adult Correction/Facebook

A convicted murderer who escaped custody in North Carolina and fled more than 100 miles away has been captured, authorities announced, ending a three-day manhunt involving local and federal law enforcement agencies.

Ramone Alston, 30, was taken into custody without incident shortly before 2 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 16, at a hotel in Kannapolis, N.C., a Charlotte suburb, the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction said in apress release. The investigation involved FBI Charlotte SWAT agents, Kannapolis Police and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.

The agency said that after Alston’s capture, a female acquaintance identified as Jacobia Crisp was arrested in Alamance County and charged with felony aiding and abetting a fugitive. It’s unclear if she has entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak on her behalf.

According to the agency, Alston will be charged with felony escape from state prison, and is being taken to a “high security unit” in the state prison system. There, he will continue serving his life sentence for first-degree murder and await court appearances for his escape charges, they said.

Alston escaped from corrections officers on Tuesday, Aug. 13, at around 7 a.m., just after arriving at UNC Hospitals Hillsborough Campus for an appointment. He “had freed himself from leg restraints and, still in handcuffs, jumped out and ran into adjacent woods," the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction said in aseparate release.

The hospital is located about 110 miles away from Kannapolis, N.C., where Alston was ultimately captured. The agency previously announced a combined$50,000 rewardfor information leading to his location and capture.

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Alston is serving a life sentence at Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor, N.C., after being convicted of first-degree murder for the 2015 shooting death of a 1-year-old child in Chapel Hill, N.C., the agency said.

“I am grateful to our DAC staff and thankful for the support and effort from hundreds of local, state and federal public safety officers who helped in the search and investigation that returned Alston safely to custody,” Secretary Todd Ishee said in the release. “This was an incredible collaborative effort of many people and agencies.”

source: people.com