ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Two inmates who escaped from the Vance County Detention Center nearly a week ago were captured early Tuesday morning at a home in Asheville, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
Michael Lewis Miles Jr., 33, and Lishawn Knott, 21, were taken into custody without incident around 12:20 a.m. Tuesday at a residence on Old Farm School Road in northeast Asheville, the SBI said.
The arrests followed a multi-agency investigation involving the SBI, the FBI, the Vance County Sheriff’s Office and local authorities in Buncombe County. The SBI’s Special Response Team surrounded the home and executed the arrests shortly after midnight.
Miles and Knott had been on the run since June 3, when authorities say they escaped from the Vance County Detention Center in Henderson. The two were being held on multiple state drug trafficking and firearms-related charges at the time of their escape.
Officials said investigative leads developed over the past several days ultimately led law enforcement officers to Buncombe County, where the pair was located.
“The SBI would like to thank all the agencies who have worked tirelessly over the past five days to get these two individuals back into custody,” the agency said in a statement.
Authorities have not released details about how the men escaped from the detention center or how they traveled more than 250 miles west to Asheville. Investigators also continue to examine whether others assisted them while they were on the run.
Before their capture, officials had warned that both men should be considered armed and dangerous. A reward of up to $40,000, including $30,000 offered by the FBI, had been announced for information leading to their arrests. Digital billboards featuring the escapees had also been deployed across North Carolina as part of the search effort.
The investigation into the escape and the suspects’ movements following their departure from the detention center remains ongoing.