FBI offers reward, arrests sister of jail escapee, suspect in murder of Wake deputy

The sister of a murder suspect is under arrest on a charge she helped arrange his escape over the weekend from a Virginia jail.

Alder Alfonso Marin-Sotelo and his older brother, Arturo Marin-Sotelo, are charged with murdering Wake Deputy Ned Byrd in August, and the younger man escaped Piedmont Regional Jail over the weekend.

On Monday, the FBI charged Adriana Marin Sotelo with assisting in that escape. In the warrant for her arrest, authorities outlined the phone conversations that set up a getaway car for Alder Alfonso Marin-Sotelo.

At a hearing on Tuesday, Adriana Marin Sotelo admitted through an interpreter that she is not a U.S. citizen. She will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service without bond.

Surveillance video from Piedmont Regional Jail shows him climbing over the fence at 1:40 a.m. on April 30. Four hours later, the document says, "Marin is again captured on video surveillance, this time leaving the jail parking lot in a red Mustang."

On May 1, a person told investigators that Adriana Marin-Sotelo "purchased the red mustang and gave it to unindicted co-conspirator 2 to drive up to Piedmont Regional Jail and leave in the parking lot for Marin's escape."

Sister's arrest warrant lays out timeline of escape plan

Friday, April 28:

12:10 p.m.: An unidentified inmate at Piedmont Regional Jail calls a sibling and arranges for the sibling to pick up the getaway car in High Point

4:56 p.m.: The inmate gives their sibling Adriana Marin Sotelo's phone number and tells them to contact her to arrange a spot to pick up a car to bring to Piedmont Regional Jail.

Saturday, April 29:

6:04 p.m.: Alder calls Adriana and tells her to get the car to the other inmate's sibling and to pay them $2,500 for dropping the car off at the jail.

Adriana meets the sibling of another Piedmont Regional Jail inmate at Palacious Automotive in High Point. She had just bought the Mustang for $3,000 and brought a paper license plate to put on the vehicle.

10:46 p.m: The sibling video calls the unidentified inmate to show they were leaving the red Mustang in the jail lot.

Sunday, April 30:

1:18 a.m.: Alder Marin-Sotelo escapes.

1:40 a.m.: Alder is seen on surveillance video jumping over the jail fence.

5:40 a.m.: Alder is seen on surveillance video driving away in the red Mustang. According to the jail, the car was parked in a lot near jail property.

11:10 a.m.: The unidentified inmate calls the sibling and talks about how they can't get in touch with Adriana to get the other $2,500 they were promised.

11:30 p.m.: Bruce Callahan escapes Piedmont Regional Jail.

Monday, May 1:

3:19 a.m.: Jail staff notices Alder Marin-Sotelo and Bruce Callahan missing.

4 a.m.: Prince Edward County Sheriff's Department is notified of the escapes.

Sometime on Monday: The sibling of the unidentified inmate is interviewed by investigators. Adriana Marin Sotelo is arrested and booked into Guilford County Jail.

FBI offers $50,000 reward as search continues for suspect in Wake deputy's murder

The FBI on Tuesday announced that it would offer a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Alder Alfonso Marin-Sotelo. Anyone with information is asked to contact a local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

Alder Alfonso Marin-Sotelo, who is described as 5 feet, 6 inches tall, 150 pounds with black hair and brown eyes, was wearing a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants at the time of the escape.

So far searches, including with drones and dogs, have turned up no sign of the escaped murder suspect.

The FBI says Sotelo is considered dangerous, Anyone who sees him should not approach him but should call 911.

Alder Alfonso Marin-Sotelo pleaded guilty in December 2022 to possession of a firearm by an illegal alien to avoid a federal trial, and court records show he had been held at Piedmont Regional Jail since January.

The jail, according to its website, houses up to 600 offenders at security levels ranging from minimum to high security. In addition to state and local offenders, inmates like Alder Alfonso Marin-Sotelo are held at Piedmont Regional Jail on behalf of the U.S. Marshal's Service.

Wake deputy shot in back in August 2022

Warrants obtained by WRAL News show Byrd, a Wake County deputy, was on his way to K-9 training late in the evening on Aug. 11 when he noticed a suspicious, light-colored truck. Byrd pulled over to investigate, leaving his K-9 in the car.

Surveillance video captured on Byrd's dashcam picked up the sound of six gunshots and showed a truck leaving the scene.

Authorities found Byrd outside his parked patrol vehicle on the side of Battle Bridge Road in southeastern Wake County. He had been shot four times, including three shots to the back of the head, and one shot in his ballistic vest.

Both Marin-Sotelo brothers face life in prison or the death penalty, if convicted of Byrd's murder.

In affidavits and search warrants related to the case, Arturo Marin-Sotelo has pointed the finger at his younger brother, Alder.

Arturo Marin-Sotelo told investigators that he was in a field hunting deer when he heard shots from the vicinity of where his brother was parking his truck. According to warrants released on Thursday, Arturo Marin-Sotelo told investigators that the brothers rode together to hunt deer off Battle Bridge Road, and that he was armed with an AK-47. While in the field, Arturo Marin-Sotelo saw a police vehicle pull up near the truck while his brother was still inside. Arturo Marin-Sotelo said he then heard gunshots and saw the truck drive away.

The warrants said that Arturo Marin-Sotelo claimed to have called his brother, who told him that a police officer had been shot.

Both brothers' cell phones pinged in the vicinity of the crime scene at the time, from 10:47 p.m. to 11:14 p.m. on Aug. 11.