Inmate Shot, Killed in Escape Attempt

SMITHFIELD, N.C. — An inmate trying to escape a Johnston County prison was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon, a Department of Correction spokesman said.

Adelino Najera, 33, scaled two fences surrounding Johnston Correctional Institution about noon, DOC spokesman Keith Acree said. A correctional officer shot and killed Najera after he ignored repeated commands to stop.

"At a medium-security institution like this, state law does allow corrections officers to use deadly force to stop an escaping felon," Acree said. "And that's what they did in this case."

Najera, who died at the scene, was serving a 10-year sentence for a 2001 second-degree murder conviction in Stokes County, where he shot a person in the face.

He was scheduled to be released in June, but federal officials had an order to deport him to his native Honduras upon release, Acree said.

Johnston Correctional Institution, near Smithfield, is a medium-security prison for men, according to the Department of Correction Web site. Its maximum operating capacity is 644.

The correctional officer who shot Najera was still working Tuesday afternoon and continuing with his normal duties.