A convicted murderer, who escaped custody in Hillsborough Tuesday, is back in custody after police say they located and captured him overnight in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
Ramone Alston, 30, was taken into custody shortly before 2 a.m. Friday at a hotel on Cloverleaf Parkway, officials said in a release. FBI Charlotte SWAT agents, Kannapolis Police and members of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department assisted in the operation.
Authorities say he was taken into custody without incident, and no injuries were reported.
On Thursday, officials increased a reward to $50,000 for information leading to Alston's capture.
Details of what led authorities to his location have not yet been released, but officials have said a woman, identified as Jacobia Crisp, was also arrested in Alamance County. She is charged with felony aiding and abetting a fugitive.
"The investigation will continue to determine his movements since he escaped on Tuesday, any additional accomplices that aided him, and if he committed any other crimes while on the run," according to a release.
Alston is now charged with felony escape from prison, authorities said, and is being transferred to a high security prison where he will continue serving his life sentence for first degree murder and await future court appearances for his escape charges.
"That man had a plan, and there was nothing they could do to know it," Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
"He's extremely cagey. He's extremely dangerous," the sheriff said. "He has nothing to lose."
A jury convicted Alston in the 2015 Christmas Day killing of a 1-year-old in a drive-by shooting in Chapel Hill. He was found guilty in 2018. Alston was charged in the death of 1-year-old Maleah Williams.
Blackwood said the state Department of Adult Corrections would take the lead on the investigation with help with from other state and federal agencies.
The sheriff said investigators were following up on "two solid leads." He would not give specifics, but did say that anyone who helped Alston would face felony charges.
"The aiding and abetting in the escape of an inmate such as this is a Class H felony. If we can prove that you were involved in this, you're going to be charged. Just want everybody to think about that while that $35,000 is hanging out there," he said, before the reward money was increased.
"We know you, and we’re coming for you," Blackwood said.
By Wednesday, officials said they searched more than 1,300 acres. Blackwood asked residents in Hillsborough to check their surveillance footage to see whether there is anything that helps in the investigation.
“Our neighborhoods are riddled with Ring cameras," Blackwood said during a Wednesday morning press conference. "Please check your Ring cams.”
Prison officials said guards were taking Alston to a medical appointment when he escaped. Officers on the ground and in the air searched the area around UNC Hospitals Hillsborough Campus Monday.
"He escaped from custody around 7 a.m. when the transport vehicle arrived at UNC Gastroenterology," the North Carolina Department of Corrections said. "He had freed himself from leg restraints and, still in handcuffs, jumped out and ran into adjacent woods."
Blackwood said they were reviewing hospital footage, but the cameras are stop gap and "don't show a whole lot since it happened so quickly." Blackwood said the camera shows the door open, the escapee's foot hit the ground and then he vanishes out of the frame.
The sheriff said they are interviewing family members and officers, trying to figure out exactly how Alston escaped.
"Somebody out there knows that this was planned and they know who's involved in it," Blackwood said.
Officials said officers from multiple agencies were involved in the manhunt, checking anywhere Alston could hide, including outbuildings, unlocked cars and ravines.
“While the number one objective is to locate where Alston is, it is also imperative that we determine where he is not. Efforts will continue until Alston is in custody,” Orange County Emergency Services Director Kirby Saunders said Monday.
"We have 114 active personnel searching for this individual. Our primary focus and aim (is) to reassure the community that they are safe. We are going door to door doing thorough searches. We want to determine where he is not hiding," he said during the search.
UNC Hospitals Hillsborough Campus went on lockdown for a short time after the escape, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Related article: Reward offered for capture of escaped convicted murderer as suspect remains on the loose
Authorities with the town of Hillsborough urge anyone who spots the escaped inmate to call 911 immediately, and not to approach him.
The sheriff said he went to high school with Alston's father and has known the escaped prisoner "since he was born." He described Alston as a troubled child, who was involved in criminal activity since he was young.
Related article: Ramone Alston found guilty of first-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison
Anyone with additional information on Alston's escape is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff's Office tip line at 919-324-2900.
Spectrum News 1 reporters Zyneria Byrd and Jenna Rae Gaertner contributed