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A federal inmate pleaded guilty on Thursday, June 9, 2022 to attempting to escape from the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina (“FCI Butner”), according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of North Carolina.

According to court documents, Charles Asher, 62, an inmate at FCI Butner at the time of the offense, was found hiding in the bushes on the compound near the exit door of the institution at approximately 9 p.m. on September 14, 2020.

“At the time he was discovered, Asher was required per FCI Butner orders and policy to be in his assigned housing unit,” stated the release. “Asher was found with multiple unauthorized items, including: a homemade rope approximately 14 feet in length, grey gloves, a blue mattress cover, and a homemade cardboard replica handgun wrapped with black electrical tape.”

Asher pleaded guilty to the sole count of attempting to escape prison pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 751(a) and faces a maximum penalty of up to five additional years in prison when sentenced in the September 2022 term of court.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle accepted the plea. The Federal Bureau of Prisons is investigating the case and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mallory Brooks Storus is prosecuting.

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