The week began with news that one of the men accused of murder in the death of Wake County Sheriff Deputy Ned Byrd had escaped from a Virginia jail early Sunday morning. Alder Alfonso Marin-Sotelo was being held at the Piedmont Regional Jail in Farmville, Virginia on federal gun charges when he escaped around 1 a.m. Another inmate, Bruce Callahan, who also has North Carolina connections, escaped late Sunday night. Unfortunately, jail staff did not notice that either inmate was missing until after 3 a.m. Monday, giving Marin-Sotelo more than a day's head start. The FBI joined the search Monday and promptly arrested Marin-Sotelo’s sister in High Point alleging that she paid someone to leave in the jail parking lot the getaway car that Marin-Sotelo used to flee the area. Yesterday Marin-Sotelo was captured by Mexican authorities in Guerrero, more than 2,400 miles from Farmville, Va. He now faces federal charges for escape in addition to the pending state charge for murder. Callahan, who was convicted of federal drug charges, is still at large. More troubling news related to jails. The News and Observer reports that 2022 marked the sixth consecutive year of record-high deaths in North Carolina's county detention centers. Seventy-seven inmates died in county jails last year. More than a quarter of the deaths were from suicide, and eighteen were related to overdoses or complications from opioid withdrawal. Advocates identify lapses of supervision and the lack of sanctions for violations as a major cause, while sheriffs point to staffing [...]
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