Tenn. fugitive arrested in Wilmington
by Kellen Moore
After four days of freedom, an inmate who escaped from a work crew Sept. 25 near Roan Mountain, Tenn., was captured in Wilmington, N.C.
Grady Edwards, 36, was serving a six-year sentence at the Northeast Correctional Complex Annex in Carter County, Tenn., when he walked away from a minimum-custody work crew, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction.
The department's Office of Investigations and Compliance tracked Edwards to a location in Wilmington, N.C., where he was apprehended near a shopping mall with assistance from the Wilmington Police Department and other agencies.
The Kinston Free Press reported that Edwards' wife, 53-year-old Julia Edwards of Snow Hill, and her son, 32-year-old Kevin Roberson of Stantonsburg, also were taken into custody and charged with being accomplices in the escape.
Lt. Johnnie Morris of the Greene County Sheriff's Office said the three devised a plan to pick up the convict from the work site, according to the Kinston newspaper.
Grady Edwards was convicted of property theft and burglary in Union and Anderson counties in Tennessee, according to DOC Spokeswoman Cindy Dunning. His sentence began in January and was set to end in November 2017, according to the Department of Correction website.
He would have been eligible for parole in 2013 but now could face up to six additional years for escape, according to the DOC.
Julia Edwards and Kevin Roberson also face additional charges unrelated to harboring the fugitive.
Grady Edwards, 36, was serving a six-year sentence at the Northeast Correctional Complex Annex in Carter County, Tenn., when he walked away from a minimum-custody work crew, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction.
The department's Office of Investigations and Compliance tracked Edwards to a location in Wilmington, N.C., where he was apprehended near a shopping mall with assistance from the Wilmington Police Department and other agencies.
The Kinston Free Press reported that Edwards' wife, 53-year-old Julia Edwards of Snow Hill, and her son, 32-year-old Kevin Roberson of Stantonsburg, also were taken into custody and charged with being accomplices in the escape.
Lt. Johnnie Morris of the Greene County Sheriff's Office said the three devised a plan to pick up the convict from the work site, according to the Kinston newspaper.
Grady Edwards was convicted of property theft and burglary in Union and Anderson counties in Tennessee, according to DOC Spokeswoman Cindy Dunning. His sentence began in January and was set to end in November 2017, according to the Department of Correction website.
He would have been eligible for parole in 2013 but now could face up to six additional years for escape, according to the DOC.
Julia Edwards and Kevin Roberson also face additional charges unrelated to harboring the fugitive.