Woman accused of helping North Carolina killer escape from prison appears in court

A woman accused of helping a convicted murderer escape from custody last week made her first appearance before a judge in an Orange County courtroom on Monday.

About a dozen Orange County sheriff's deputies were lined up at the exits on both sides of the courtroom. Numerous television cameras and media personnel were stationed in the hallways.

District Judge Todd Roper has scheduled a court date for Sept. 13 (Monday) for Jacobia Shina Crisp, 32, of Burlington, charged with aiding and abetting an escape and harboring an escapee.

If Crisp is found guilty on both counts, he faces more than five years in prison.

Crisp is accused of helping 30-year-old Ramone Alston escape from prison guards in the parking lot of UNC Hospital in Hillsborough early Tuesday morning.

She declined to answer questions from the media after leaving the courtroom on Monday.

Three-day manhunt

Alston led a three-day manhunt by local, state and federal police before he was arrested around 2 a.m. Friday at a hotel near Interstate 85 in Kannapolis, about 110 miles (177 kilometers) southwest of Hillsborough.

Alston was charged with attempted escape and assault on a police officer, according to court records. He was transferred to Granville Correctional Institution, where he is being housed in the state's maximum security cell, officials with the state Department of Adult Correctional said.

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said he was unaware of the relationship between Alston and Crisp, but said it developed over several months through telecommunications.

Crisp was released from the Alamance County Detention Center on $30,000 bail on Friday. She is being represented by the Orange County Public Defender's Office.

The state Department of Adult Correction and law enforcement are still reviewing the information that led to Alston's arrest to determine if anyone is eligible for the $50,000 reward offered, DAC spokesman Keith Acree said Monday.

A date for his first court appearance has not yet been set.

How did Alston escape state officials?

Alston, who is serving a life sentence for the killing of 14-month-old Maleah Williams on Christmas Day 2015, was previously housed at Bertie Correctional Institution.

Two armed correctional officers loaded Alston into an ambulance around 4 a.m. Tuesday in Bertie County for the 153-mile ride to an appointment at UNC Hospital.

Alston was shackled during the ride with shackles and handcuffs connected to a junction box on his waist via a belly chain. He was able to remove the shackles during the ride to Hillsborough, officials said.

The car arrived at the hospital at 7 a.m. When officers opened the door, Alston jumped out and threw an officer to the ground. He ran into the woods, still in handcuffs. Officers immediately called the Orange County Sheriff's Office for help, Blackwood said.

More than 335 officers from 19 agencies searched a five-mile radius around the hospital during the initial 33-hour manhunt for Alston, officials said. FBI agents, Charlotte SWAT officers and police officers from Kannapolis and Charlotte-Mecklenburg assisted in his arrest.

A team from the Department of Adult Correction will spend the next few weeks investigating Alston's escape and law enforcement's response to it, according to DAC Secretary Todd Ishee. The investigation will also look at whether he committed additional crimes or had additional accomplices during his escape, Orange County sheriff's officials said.

There is no official estimate yet of the cost of Alston's capture. The officers who took Alston to the hospital have been assigned to other duties while the investigation continues.