Escapee caught in Liberty

Ronnie Dwayne East (N.C. Department of Adult Correction)

LIBERTY – A Raleigh prisoner with Randolph County ties was apprehended near Ramsey Julian Road in Liberty on Friday at least a couple of hours after he left a Raleigh work site.

Ronnie Dwayne East, 41, was captured by Randolph County sheriff’s deputies around 5:10 p.m. He had been discovered missing shortly after 3 p.m. based on information from the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.

Based on reports from law enforcement, East stole a state-owned pickup truck from the work site.

Upon his capture, East was transported to another correctional facility. He faces charges for escape and vehicle theft.

East was serving a four-year sentence at Wake Correctional Center for breaking and entering and larceny in Randolph County. He was scheduled for release in July 2016 before the latest charges.

His work assignment was at a North Carolina Department of Adult Correction warehouse on Leagan Drive in Raleigh.

During the search for East, information regarding the man was released in an effort to locate him. He was described as a 5-foot-8, 179-pound white man with tattoos on both arms, legs, chest, back and stomach. He had been wearing prison-issued green pants and shirt.

By late afternoon Friday, the lack of knowledge regarding East’s whereabouts had become a top news story in Raleigh.