13-year-old N.C. double-murder suspect escapes after court appearance

LUMBERTON, N.C. -- The Robeson County Sheriff's Office is searching for a 13-year-old charged with two counts of first-degree murder who escaped custody Tuesday.

The teen was in court around noon when he disappeared. He was wearing leg restraints without any shoes at the Robeson County Courthouse on N. Elm Street but still managed to escape. He was last seen in the intersection of Highway 72 and Country Club Road in Lumberton.

In addition to the two murder accounts, he also had a charge of robbery with a dangerous weapon. Because he is a juvenile, the sheriff's office identified him only as Jericho W.

The Department of Public Safety said Jericho should be considered a threat to the public because of a "prior history of assaultive and unpredictable behavior."

Jericho, who is from Lumberton, was one of two people arrested October 17 for the double homicide, which happened October 15. He and Derrick Deshawn Hunt, 19, also of Lumberton were arrested at a home on Belyn Road in Rowland and charged in the deaths of brothers Frank and Adam Thomas.

After the arrest, Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said the deadly incident had a "drug component to it."

The sheriff's office described the escaped teen as about 5 feet tall, 110 pounds, with brown eyes and hair. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and beige pants.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the Robeson County Sheriff's Office at (910) 671-3170 or (910) 671-3100.