Escapee from NC federal prison turns himself in after three weeks on the run
Richard Cephas, the federal inmate who said he fled out of a fear he would die from a coronavirus outbreak at the prison complex in Butner, turned himself into authorities at a Delaware courthouse on Monday and was charged with escape, a federal prosecutor said.
While on the run, Cephas, 54, told The News & Observer in an exclusive interview last week that he has a medical condition that has left him with a weakened immune system, and that caused him to flee to avoid the virus. Butner has one of the biggest outbreaks in the federal prison system.
“I take ownership of having to serve my time,” said Cephas, who had been at the Federal Correctional Complex north of Raleigh serving time on a drug conviction. “I signed up for a jail sentence, not a death sentence.”
He fled the prison’s work camp nearly three weeks ago and spoke to The N&O from an undisclosed location. While the prison notified local police hours after the escape, the N&O found out about it a week later from families of Butner inmates.
The prison had said Cephas was a “non-dangerous offender.” He was serving a five-and-a-half-year sentence for his role in a drug trafficking case in Delaware. He told the N&O he had roughly another 18 months to serve before he fled, and had been a model inmate.
U.S. Attorney Robert Higdon Jr. said in a news release that Cephas, of Wilmington, Delaware, would be returned to the Eastern District of North Carolina to face the escape charge, which carries a penalty of fines and up to five years in prison.
“We are grateful for our dedicated law enforcement officers, particularly the United States Marshals Service, who investigated Mr. Cephas’ alleged escape over the past several weeks,” Higdon said in the release. “They pursued this case in the face of the heightened risk presented by the pandemic in order to ensure the public’s safety – an example of the critical role that law enforcement plays in protecting us every day.”
Bill Rhodunda, the attorney who represented Cephas in the drug case, was unaware of the arrest, an office assistant said Tuesday.
COVID-19 outbreak at Butner
Higdon announced the escape charge on Friday, the day after the N&O interview. Higdon disputed Cephas fled out of a fear of catching the disease.
Cephas told the N&O last week that he was looking to turn himself in and hoped he could receive home confinement to finish out his sentence. He said he has neutropenia, which causes a drop in white blood cells that fend off infection, and hasn’t been getting the twice-weekly injections he needs to counter it.
“I have to be honest, I don’t feel that I should get time for escaping from prison,” he said. “If it wasn’t for COVID I never would have left.”
The Federal Bureau of Prisons first reported a coronavirus case at Butner on March 26. The complex has two medium-security facilities (one of which includes the minimum-security camp), a low-security facility and a medical center.
By Sunday, the bureau had reported 65 inmates and 27 staff testing positive. But on Monday, those numbers dropped to 31 inmates and 25 staff. Five inmates have died at Butner, all but one of whom prison officials said also suffered other medical complications.
Cephas’ escape drew support from some quarters on Twitter, including from Piper Kerman, author of the bestselling book turned into a hit TV series: “Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison.”
After Cephas’ interview was published Kerman tweeted: “I wouldn’t sit there & let the government kill me either.” She included an emoji of a flexed bicep.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 12:21 PM with the headline "Escapee from NC federal prison turns himself in after three weeks on the run."