HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (WTVD) – Convicted murderer Ramone Alston was caught after a three-day manhunt.
According to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (DAC), Alston was arrested just before 2 a.m. at a hotel on Cloverleaf Parkway in Kannapolis. He has since been transferred to Granville Correctional Institution in Butner, the highest security prison in the North Carolina prison system.
Investigators would not say what alerted them to Alston’s stay at the hotel. There was a $50,000 reward offered in the case, but it’s unclear if anyone will be able to claim that money.
“I don’t want to go into detail about how…how we were led to the hotel,” said FBI Special Agent Bob Dewitt.
Keith Acree of DAC said Alston was arrested with the help of agents from the FBI Charlotte SWAT team, as well as Kannapolis police and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. No one was injured.
“I am grateful to our DAC staff and thankful for the support and dedication of hundreds of local, state and federal law enforcement officials who assisted in the search and investigation that brought Alston safely into custody,” said Department Secretary Todd Ishee. “This was an incredible community effort.”
A woman named Jacobia Crisp was also arrested in Alamance County and charged with aiding and abetting an escape. Investigators did not elaborate on what Crisp did to help Alston, other than driving Alston around. Details about when or where she drove him were unclear; investigators also would not say if she was the only one helping or what their relationship was. The only thing they did say was that Crisp was not in jail when the two began their relationship months ago.
SEE ALSO | Father of one-year-old killed by Ramone Alston: “Unhappy with the Ministry of Public Safety”
Ramone Alston, who was serving a life sentence for killing a one-year-old boy on Christmas Day 2015, remained at large hours after his escape in Orange County.
Alston escaped from correctional officers on Tuesday morning as he arrived for an appointment at a Hillsborough hospital. Since then, hundreds of police and security officers have been involved in the search for him.
The two officers who transported Alston have been removed from their transport duties while an internal investigation is conducted. What will ultimately happen to those officers will depend on what that investigation reveals.
Alston is charged with prison escape and must continue serving a life sentence for the premeditated murder of 1-year-old Maleah Williams in Chapel Hill in 2015.
Who is Ramone Alston?
Alston was found guilty of shooting 1-year-old Maleah Williams on Christmas Day 2015. The shooting occurred in Chapel Hill. Maleah’s mother told ABC11 at the time that the children were outside playing with their Christmas toys and she was holding her daughter when someone in the area started firing shots. She ran away when she realized a bullet had struck Maleah.
Maleah Williams was 1 year old.
Courtesy of the family
ABC11 has uncovered that Alston recently sought to have his sentence reduced. Records show Alston filed a motion for equitable relief in October 2023.
The 20-page document goes into the evidence and facts of his case, in which Alston claims the state used misleading evidence in his case. The motion was denied in May because a judge said Alston received a fair and full hearing and the claims in the motion for equitable compensation were without merit.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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