Press Releases

Department of Public Safety Secretary Erik Hooks has named Caroline C. Valand as the next executive director of the Governor’s Crime Commission. She begins her new duties May 1. “Caroline is a strategic thinker and consensus builder and will work well managing the Governor’s Crime Commission staff,” said Hooks. “She has worked with CEOs and elected officials, and we look forward to her high-energy, results-oriented leadership.”

A sergeant at Bertie Correctional Institution has died following an assault by an inmate at approximately 5:30 Wednesday evening. Sergeant Meggan Lee Callahan, 29, died at approximately 6:20 p.m. despite life saving measures conducted by Bertie CI medical staff and local first responders. Inmate Craig Wissink (#0629617) is being investigated in connection with the sergeant's death.

Through an open house on Thursday, April 27, Secretary Erik A. Hooks of the Department of Public Safety, along with W. David Guice, Chief Deputy Secretary of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice, will introduce elected officials and community leaders to the renovated Lenoir Youth Development Center in Kinston.

Secretary Erik A. Hooks of the Department of Public Safety today named Kenneth Lassiter as the new Director of Prisons, effective May 1. Lassiter will replace George Solomon, who is retiring after 33 years of service. Lassiter will oversee 55 state prisons that house more than 36,500 inmates. The state prison system has a budget of approximately $1.2 billion and more than 17,000 employees.

Secretary Erik A. Hooks of the Department of Public Safety today named Tracy Lee as the new Director of Community Corrections, effective May 1.

 Inmate Adam Tipton died this morning at a Winston Salem hospital, several days after an apparent suicide attempt. Tipton was found unresponsive in his cell at Piedmont Correctional Institution in Salisbury at about 10 p.m. on April 13. Prison medical staff, local paramedics and firefighters responded and worked to resuscitate the inmate. He was transported first to Rowan Medical Center and later to Forsyth Medical Center.

Alcohol Law Enforcement agents charged nine under-aged youths with alcohol and drug violations at an April 9 prom party held at a private residence with no adult supervision. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office suspected underage consumption of alcoholic beverages at an after-prom party and requested ALE’s assistance. ALE Special Agent Allen Roberts and Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies checked a Woodrun residence at 133 Muskett Court following the April 8 prom at East Montgomery High School.

Death row inmate Eric Murillo (#0499258) died Sunday morning at Central Prison Regional Medical Center of apparent natural causes. Murillo, 66, was convicted in Richmond County and sentenced to death in April 1996 for the murder of his wife, Beth Murillo. ###

As part of its overall effort to assign new missions to prison facilities across the state, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety is working to reduce the use of segregation -- also known as solitary confinement or restrictive housing— and to improve mental health and reentry services for inmates.  DPS has accepted a report by the Vera Institute of Justice that analyzes the state’s use of segregation and provides recommendations for further reducing its use.

Nearly 200 local, state and federal law enforcement officers joined forces this week in Cumberland County for Operation Spring Sweep, an enforcement operation that served outstanding criminal warrants, searched for probation absconders and conducted compliance checks on high risk and violent offenders on probation or parole.