Press Releases
MEDIA ADVISORY
What: Statewide Tornado Drill as part of Severe Weather Preparedness Week
Root Elementary School in Raleigh will host reporters covering the tornado drill
Nick Petro, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh, will be on hand for interviews, and to make a presentation to fifth grade students who are studying weather. Selected students and school staff will also be available for interviews.
A Gaston Correctional Center minimum custody inmate who left his outside work assignment was killed today in a single vehicle accident.
David A. Woods (#0491245), who left his outside work assignment today and was reported missing at 12:50 p.m., was driving a city of Lowell Ford pickup truck when it crashed at Exit 14 off Interstate 85 at approximately 2:15 p.m.
Woods, 46, was originally from New Hanover County. He was serving a life sentence for second-degree murder and convicted on May 25, 1995.
A Caledonia Correctional Institution minimum custody inmate who left his outside work assignment on Thursday was captured early Friday morning.
Clayton Campbell (#1454355) was captured in Rocky Mount by the DPS Prisons Emergency Response Team and local law enforcement at 12:08 a.m. without incident.
A Correction Enterprises employee is facing charges Friday night after he was caught this afternoon allegedly attempting to bring contraband into the Sampson Correctional Institution Laundry facility. Correctional staff discovered nearly 59 grams of marijuana, two cell phones and tobacco in a duffle bag as Christopher Bishop was trying to enter the facility just before 3 p.m. on Friday.
Inmate Michael Grant (#0665675) died Monday at Maury Correctional Institution after an apparent suicide. He was found unresponsive in the inmate dormitory at 3:30 p.m. Prison medical staff and local paramedics responded and worked to resuscitate the inmate. He was pronounced dead at 4:08 p.m. at the facility
Grant, 42, was convicted for first degree murder in Pender County in 2013 and was serving a life sentence.
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Public Safety Secretary Erik A. Hooks provided an update on prison reform efforts to members of the Justice and Public Safety Oversight Committee today in Raleigh, including sharing the results of a new independent report on prison industry operations. He talked about the department’s ongoing efforts to improve safety and security within the state’s prisons following two tragedies that resulted in the deaths of five prison employees in 2017.
UPDATE: Forsyth Correctional Center inmate Bobby Abraham (#1054681) was returned to custody Monday morning shortly after he left his work assignment in Winston-Salem at 7:40 a.m. Abraham returned to the facility at 11:06 a.m. He will face charges for his escape.
With some melting yesterday and temperatures on the rise again today, North Carolina’s interstates and major highways are in good shape, but many secondary roads and neighborhood streets are still treacherous. Governor Cooper urged everyone to be patient just a little while longer before venturing out and to drive carefully if they do.
As the winter storm that brought heavy snow to many areas in North Carolina moves out to sea, Governor Cooper continues to encourage people to stay off the roads. Overnight temperatures in the teens mean anything on the roads is frozen and will take some time to thaw. Snow and ice that melt today will likely refreeze tonight and create hazardous conditions Friday morning.
Despite temperatures reaching above freezing this afternoon and some snow starting to melt, roads remain slick across much of the state. Another night of below freezing temperatures will likely cause continuing hazardous travel conditions, Governor Roy Cooper warned.