After Ohio jail break, 3 arrested at Cary hotel, 1 in Durham

Three were found and arrested by Cary police early Monday morning inside their car, which was found in the parking lot of a Cary motel near Crossroads Plaza. The fourth inmate escaped on foot but was found Monday afternoon in Durham.

According to the Gallia County Sheriff's Office, the four men escaped the Gallia County Jail in Gallipolis, Ohio, on Sunday.

Christopher M. Clemente, 24, was indicted on a charge of complicity to traffic in drugs; Troy R. McDaniel Jr., 30, was charged with failure to appear in Gallia County juvenile court regarding non-support of dependents; Brynn K. Martin, 40, was charged with breaking and entering, receiving stolen property and two counts of failure to appear and escape; Lawrence R. Lee, 29, faces charges of identity fraud, obstructing official business and assault.

Cary police, acting on a tip from the State Highway Patrol, found Clemente, McDaniel and Martin in a car at the Red Roof Inn on Walnut Street. They appeared in a Wake County courtroom, where they were given $1 million bond apiece. They are currently awaiting extradition to Ohio.

The search and arrests unnerved Cary residents and guests of the Red Roof Inn.

"Out of all places, how did you get to Cary all the way from Ohio?" Brian Walters said. "That’s ridiculous."

"The police department guys rolled up on them and jumped out with their guns on them," said Kyle Cain, who was staying at the motel. Police, he said, "came screaming through the parking lot, 'Get inside now, get inside now!'"

"One of the guys took off running and came through this door, bolted out the back and took off running," Cain said.

It was Lee who remained at large the longest. He was found just before 2 p.m. in the woods near Bacon Street and Hearthside Street by officers from the U.S. Marshals Service Joint Fugitive Task Force and the Durham Police Department.

Investigators said they have yet to determine what brought the men to the Triangle or whether any of them have a connection to North Carolina.

"Right now, that is still up in the air whether they just decided to drive here or they have some connection to the area," said Lt. Matthew Panko of the Cary Police Department. "That’s what we’re trying to find out right now."

The inmates were labeled "extremely dangerous" and believed to have been helped in their escape by at least one person on the outside, the sheriff's office said.

The two detention officers were not seriously injured during the escape, according to Gallia County Sheriff Matt Champlin. One of the inmates, Martin, has escaped from the jail before.

The inmates gained access to the administrative wing of the jail and stole the keys to a car belonging to one of the detention officers, Champlin said. They drove the car about one block away, where another car was waiting for them.

U.S. marshals were offering up to $2,500 per inmate for any information leading to their apprehension.

The jail has experienced other escapes recently from the facility and transport vehicles, the sheriff said, adding the facility isn't equipped to deal with the volume and type of inmates it houses. Improvements are needed, Champlin said.

The jail was built more than 50 years ago, and the cells no longer lock because they were permanently opened in the 1980s or 1990s to make more space to house inmates, according to the sheriff. The jail has 22 beds and employs nine full-time detention officers, four females and five males.