A $20,000 reward is being offered for information which leads to capture and arrest of escaped inmate Cul Priest Jones.
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The reward is made up of $10,000 from the governor’s office and $2,500 each from the North Carolina counties of Halifax, Northampton, Warren and Brunswick County, Virginia.
The counties chipping in on the reward are those in which Jones, 45, is believed to have committed crimes while on the lam since his October 14, 2018, escape from Hoke Correctional Institution, Chief Deputy Scott Hall of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office said today.
It is believed Jones has committed the crimes of burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft while on the run.
Hall said it is possible Jones remains in the immediate area and is known to frequent the Roanoke Rapids area. “It is believed he is receiving some type of assistance while in the area. Additional charges could be forthcoming for anyone who may be assisting a wanted fugitive.”
In announcing the reward this week Governor Roy Cooper said Jones stands approximately 6-feet tall and weighs 184 pounds. He walks with a limp.
Jones escaped from the Hoke Correctional Institution in Raeford and was incarcerated for first-degree burglary after being sentenced to a maximum of 10 years on September 29, 2014. “Jones has eluded federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities since his escape,” the governor said. “He is the prime suspect in a multi-state crime spree including burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft. Jones has a long, violent criminal history and is considered armed and dangerous.”
Hall said the sheriff’s office is working closely with the Roanoke Rapids Police Department, state probation and parole, the state Department of Public Safety and the sheriff’s offices of Northampton, Warren and Brunswick County, Virginia. “Anytime we have multiple agencies working together it enhances the ability to reach more citizens in the community who could have information paramount in his capture,” he said.
The October escape made the second time in his criminal history Jones has fled from prison custody.
The Greensboro News & Record reported in 1995 Jones, who at the time was allegedly responsible for a three-state crime spree while on the run, was taken into custody after being arrested by police in New York.
At the time he fled from Person Correctional Center Jones was sentenced for shooting Warren County Sheriff's Office Detective Harold Seaman in 1990.
His Hoke County escape last month came after his conviction in 2014 to a term of 7 years and 11 months for first-degree burglary, which was related to a December 2013 crime in which he was shot a by a business owner who was awakened by noise and saw Jones behind the cash register with a handgun.
Anyone having information concerning the whereabouts of this escaped inmate is encouraged to contact the North Carolina Department of Public Safety at 919-838-3572 or the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office at 252-583-8201.
