One of four inmates who escaped from Hopewell camp turns himself in

One of four escaped inmates who walked away from a federal prison satellite camp in Hopewell has turned himself in, authorities said Monday.

Tavares Lajuane Graham, 44, “showed up back at the facility early (Sunday) morning and was taken back into custody,” said Kevin Connolly, a supervisor with the U.S. Marshals Service Capital Regional Fugitive Task Force, which is assisting in the search and capture of the missing inmates.

Still at large are Corey Branch, Lamonte Rashawn Willis and Kareem Allen Shaw, who were discovered missing from the Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg’s satellite camp in Hopewell around 1:45 a.m. Saturday.

“These are walkaways … the information is that they left around 10 p.m. Friday, so they had a couple of hours before they were detected,” Connolly said.

The satellite camp, which houses low-risk inmates in a dormitory, is adjacent to the Federal Bureau of Prisons minimum-security facility at 1100 River Road in Hopewell, known as the Federal Correctional Institution Low.

“The U.S. Marshals, as they normally do, have obtained all of the background information on these individuals from the facility, the ATF and DEA. … We’re following up on leads on these remaining three,” Connolly said.

The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $2,000 per escapee for information leading to their capture, Connolly said.

Tips can be provided to the U.S. Marshals Service on the agency’s app, USMS Tips, or at usmarshals.gov/tips.

The U.S. Marshals Service will charge all four inmates with escaping from a federal prison, which if convicted carries a punishment of up to five years in prison. “So they will have new charges, in addition to the federal sentences they’re serving down there,” Connolly said.

Graham 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.

Branch, 41, was sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia to more than 13 years for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm by a felon. 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. 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.