Four inmates escape Virginia prison satellite camp: officials

Updated: Jun 20, 2022 / 04:47 AM CDT

This photo provided by Federal Bureau of Prisons shows from left, Corey Branch, Tavares Lajuane Graham, Lamonte Rashawn Willis and Kareem Allen Shaw. Federal officials say four inmates have escaped from a federal prison’s satellite camp in Virginia. The Federal Bureau of Prisons says inmates Corey Branch, Tavares Lajuane Graham, Lamonte Rashawn Willis and Kareem Allen Shaw were discovered missing from the Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg’s satellite camp in Hopewell, Va., Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Federal Bureau of Prisons via AP)

HOPEWELL, Va. (AP) — Four inmates escaped from a federal prison’s satellite camp in Virginia, officials announced Saturday morning.

Inmates Corey Branch, Tavares Lajuane Graham, Lamonte Rashawn Willis and Kareem Allen Shaw were discovered missing from the Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg’s satellite camp in Hopewell, Virginia, around 1:45 a.m., the Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a news release. The minimum security facility houses 185 male offenders, officials said. Officials did not release any details about how the inmates escaped.

The U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies were notified and an internal investigation has been initiated, officials said.

Branch, 41, was sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia to more than 13 years for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and felon in possession of a firearm. Graham, 44, was sentenced in the Eastern District of North Carolina to 10 years for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 28 grams or more of cocaine base, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Willis, 30, was sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia to 18 years for possessing and concealing a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Shaw, 46, was sentenced in the Western District of Virginia to more than 16 years for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a measurable quantity of heroin.