Va. Dept. of Corrections officers were asleep when inmate escaped hospital

Virginia Department of Corrections officers admitted being asleep when an inmate escaped a hospital in Henrico County in August, according to the department’s investigation.

Naseem “Lil Nas” Roulack, 21, has been on the run since escaping Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital on Aug. 12. Police said he then made his way to the D.C. area, where he’s accused of carjacking a woman at gunpoint in Gaithersburg, Maryland, less than three weeks after his escape.

He was serving a 13-year sentence on charges of aggravated malicious wounding, grand larceny and hit and run.

A $20,000 reward for information is being offered in the search for 21-year-old escaped inmate Naseem Isaiah Roulack. (Courtesy Virginia Department of Corrections)

On the morning of his escape, the Virginia Department of Corrections said two of its officers who were tasked with supervising Roulack fell asleep. Those officers have resigned from the department.

The investigation also found Roulack was wearing flex cuffs, which are made of nylon, on both his wrists and legs at the time of his escape, when he should have been wearing metal cuffs on his legs. The department said the metal cuffs around his legs were replaced at the hospital’s request to conduct an MRI, but the metal cuffs should have been reapplied after the procedure.

“The Department will learn from these findings to ensure that we are providing the most effective incarceration, which leads to lasting public safety for the Commonwealth,” VADOC Director Chadwick Dotson said.

The criminal investigation into Roulack’s escape continues. The U.S. Marshals Service and Montgomery County police are offering a total reward of $20,000 for information leading to his capture. Police said he should be considered armed and dangerous, and anyone who sees Roulack should not approach him.

He’s described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall. He weighs about 225 pounds and has four identified tattoos, including one on his chest that reads “Marie;” one on his left arm that reads “RIP Ish;” one on his right cheek that reads “Cut Throat;” and one on his right arm that reads “Faith Is Seeing Light With Your Heart When All Your Eyes See Is Darkness.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact U.S. Marshals at 877-WANTED2.

Thomas Robertson

Thomas Robertson is an Associate Producer and Web Writer/Editor at WTOP. After graduating in 2019 from James Madison University, Thomas moved away from Virginia for the first time in his life to cover the local government beat for a small daily newspaper in Zanesville, Ohio.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up