Press Releases

An offender at Scotland Correctional Institution died this morning, and two others were sent to the hospital, after a fight involving seven offenders in a single housing unit cell.

The U.S. Small Business Administration today granted Gov. Roy Cooper’s request for a disaster declaration for homeowners and small businesses that suffered damage from a 5.1 magnitude earthquake centered near Sparta in Alleghany County on Aug. 9.

 A search and rescue task force from North Carolina deployed this morning to assist in the response to Hurricane Laura along the Gulf Coast. Answering a request from the State of Louisiana through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, North Carolina is providing a task force of 41 responders.  

State correctional and local law enforcement officers are seeking Wake Correctional Center minimum custody offender Michael Lee Willis-Rockett (#1297881), who was reported missing from his prison job assignment this morning.

The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice has named Ronnie “Lane” Huneycutt as warden at the Avery-Mitchell Correctional Institution in Spruce Pine. Huneycutt, 50, had been the associate warden at Caldwell Correctional Center in Lenoir since 2015.

The U.S. Small Business Administration granted Gov. Roy Cooper’s request for a disaster declaration for small businesses and homeowners facing damage from a tornado that struck as Hurricane Isaias passed through the state on Aug. 4. 

Gov. Roy Cooper today signed and submitted a request to the U.S. Small Business Administration to grant a disaster declaration for Bertie and surrounding counties to provide low-interest disaster loans to residents and businesses who suffered losses from a tornado that struck as Hurricane Isaias passed through the state on Aug. 4. 

Airmen and Soldiers from across the country gathered at the North Carolina National Guard Joint Force Headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, to witness Capt.

Governor Roy Cooper has declared August as North Carolina Preparedness Month, encouraging individuals, families, schools and businesses to review their emergency plans and update their emergency supply kits. 

Offender Edward S. Parker (#0311615) died Aug. 13, 2020 at Johnston Correctional Institution after an apparent suicide. 

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced a new, expedited reimbursement program that aims to expand non-congregate sheltering options in communities across the state.

The State of North Carolina and FEMA have approved more than $25.9 million to reimburse the North Carolina Department of Transportation for Hurricane Florence-related debris removal and road repair costs.

An offender housed at Caldwell Correctional Center who tested positive for COVID-19 has died at the hospital as a result of pre-existing conditions complicated by COVID-19.

State prison officials have completed COVID-19 tests of all offenders in state prisons and the results show 2.1 percent were positive for the virus in a six-week mass testing operation.