Warrants say inmates attempted jailbreak at Detention Center.
A suspected murder, along with a statutory rape defendant and another felon allegedly tried to escape the Columbus County Detention Center Thursday, according to warrants.
None of the three made it out of the facility. The three allegedly committed what is called a “lock pop,” disabling the locking mechanism and opening the door of a cell.
Anthony Wade Lamb, 33; Gerson Daniel Brown, 24; and Omonte Bell, 29, are each charged with attempting escape from county confinement. They were returned to custody.
Chief Deputy Aaron Herring said there was never any danger of the prisoners escaping the jail. Even though they disabled the locks on their individual doors, there are multiple other security measures that prevent escapes.
“They would have a lifetime to go before it could be an actual escape,” Herring said.
Brown, whose address was listed as 844 Whitehall Road, was arrested April 7, 2021, on statutory rape charges. He allegedly had sex with a girl known to him from the time she was six until she was 12 years of age, according to warrants. Brown allegedly began molesting the girl when he was 18. He was arrested in November 2020 for communicating threats, then in December of the same year for failure to appear. In each case he was released on bond.
Bell is charged with two counts of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy for his role in a Wilmington killing last year. Bell and two others allegedly shot and killed Koredreese Tyson and Bri-yanna Taylor, and wounded a third person, on July 24, 2021, according to the New Hanover Sheriff’s Office. The shooting occurred in a home owned by the executive operating officer of TRU Colors Brewery, a company that assists gang members in transitioning back into society.
Bell is from Charlotte.
Lamb, 32, of Timmonsville, S.C., was arrested by Columbus County deputies on charges of attempted murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, altering a serial number, and possession of a stolen vehicle. Detectives caught Lamb at a home near Tabor City minutes after an alert was sent out by Florence County authorities in October.
