A man charged in the murder of a Wake County, North Carolina, sheriff’s deputy and escaped from a jail in Farmville, Virginia, was recaptured in Mexico Thursday.
Alder Marin-Sotelo, 26, was rearrested in the Mexican state of Guerrero, which contains Acapulco and abuts the Pacific Ocean. Now he awaits extradition from Mexico back to the U.S.
Mr. Marin-Sotelo and fellow inmate Bruce Callahan escaped the Piedmont Regional Jail Sunday.
Mr. Martin-Sotelo was held there after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by an illegal immigrant. The charge of first-degree murder for the August death of Wake County Deputy Ned Byrd has not yet gone to court.
Mr. Marin-Sotelo’s brother Arturo Marin-Sotelo was also charged with the Byrd murder.
Byrd had left his patrol car to respond to reports of suspicious activity when he was shot several times by the Marin-Sotelo brothers, according to the Officer Down memorial website.
A third family member, sister Adriana Marin-Sotelo, was charged in federal court Tuesday, accused of using $2,500 to arrange for the purchase of a getaway vehicle for Alder.
Although Mr. Marin-Sotelo and Mr. Callahan left over 20 hours apart, law enforcement indicated that the two fugitives collaborated in their prison break.
“They somehow, we think, were potentially able to manipulate some locks, crawled through an opening that led them out into the rec-yard area. From there, they scaled two fences to get away from the jail,” U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of North Carolina Larry Moltzan told ABC News.
Mr. Marin-Sotelo left first at 1:18 a.m. Sunday. Mr. Callahan broke out at around 11: 30 p.m. that night.
“I think it’s fair to reason that they may have talked about it, given that it was so similar. But they did not escape at the same time and didn’t necessarily help each other in that way,” Mr. Moltzan elaborated.
The pair’s escape was not noticed by Piedmont Regional Jail staff until 3:19 a.m. Monday.
The car, a burgundy 2003 Ford Mustang with a temporary paper tag, has not been recovered. Investigation into the timeline of Mr. Marin-Sotelo’s sojourn into Mexico is ongoing.
Mr. Callahan, 44, originally arrested on federal drugs and weapons charges, has not been recaptured. He is a White male with brown hair and green eyes.
There is a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to Mr. Callahan’s arrest.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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