UPDATE:
The suspect in this case was reportedly captured on Sunday, almost two days after he escaped from a hospital where he was being treated for injuries associated with the alleged crime. As of the latest reports available, he was in law enforcement custody on expected charges including assault and breaking and entering.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Authorities in North Carolina say a man was arrested after his alleged attempt to rob a residence was foiled by an 11-year-old resident with a machete.
According to WTVD, the incident occurred Friday in Mebane. Nineteen-year-old Jataveon Dashawn Hall is accused of forcing his way into the residence, where he encountered the boy, who struck the suspect in the head with the weapon.
Though he was transported to UNC Hospital for treatment of his injuries, subsequent reports show he has since escaped.
UNC Health Care released a statement indicating that Hall was admitted to the hospital’s emergency department, where he “was in the legal custody of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department which did not place an officer with him.”
Sheriff Charles Blackwood said he was last seen wearing a hospital gown and carrying a cup of water on Friday night.
After hospital staff noticed his bed was empty, a review of surveillance footage reportedly revealed that he walked out of the hospital.
As of the latest updates available, the suspect had not been located. Authorities describe him as about 6 feet tall and about 135 pounds.
Anyone with information about his possible whereabouts is urged to contact the sheriff’s office by calling 919-245-2900 and to treat him as armed and dangerous.
A man and a woman have also been identified as suspects in the attempted robbery and have also evaded arrest, according to police.
[Featured image: Jataveon Dashawn Hall, handout]
