Inmate Sentenced to 30 Months for Attempting to Escape

RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal inmate was sentenced today to 30 months for attempting to escape from the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina (“FCI Butner”). 

According to court documents, Charles Asher, 62, an inmate at FCI Butner at the time of the offense, was found hiding in the bushes on the compound at approximately 9:00 p.m. on September 14, 2020, near the exit door of the institution.  At the time he was discovered, Asher was required per FCI Butner orders and policy to be in his assigned housing unit.  Asher was found with multiple unauthorized items that could be used to effectuate an escape, including: a homemade rope approximately 14 feet in length, grey gloves, a blue mattress cover, and a homemade cardboard replica handgun wrapped with black electrical tape.

Asher previously pled guilty to the sole count of attempted escape from prison pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 751(a), on June 9, 2022.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced Asher. The Federal Bureau of Prisons investigated the case and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mallory Brooks Storus prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-CR-00120-BO.