4 federal inmates escape from minimum security Virginia prison

Four inmates escaped from a minimum security federal prison in Hopewell, Virginia, on Friday night, the Bureau of Prisons said Saturday. 

Corey Branch, Tavares Lajuane Graham, Lamonte Rashawn Willis and Kareem Allen Shaw were discovered missing from the Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg’s satellite camp at approximately 1:45 a.m., according to the bureau.

The bureau did not release any information about how they were able to escape the camp, which houses 185 male inmates, and did not say if they were believed to have escaped together. 

screen-shot-2022-06-18-at-10-29-12-am.png A release from the Bureau of Prisons shows the four men who escaped from custody, 

Bureau of Prisons

Graham reported back to the facility around 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning, Kevin Connolly with the U.S. Marshalls in Richmond told CBS News. As of Monday night, the three others were still missing.

Branch, 41, was sentenced to 160 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Graham, 44, was sentenced to an aggregate 120 months for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 28 grams or more of cocaine base, and for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Willis, 30, was sentenced to 216 months for possessing and concealing a stolen firearm and for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and Shaw, 46, was sentenced to 194 months for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a measurable quantity of heroin. 

Multiple law enforcement agencies have been notified, and an internal investigation is underway. Anyone with information about the four men is encouraged to call the United States Marshals Service at (804) 545-8501. 

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