Lumberton, North Carolina — A man convicted to life in jail on Friday for the murder of Hania Aguilar, a 13-year-old Lumberton girl, attempted to flee before and after the court, according to Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins.
Wilkins stated that Michael McLellan used a handmade handcuff key to remove the cuffs while being transported to Central Prison in Raleigh after being sentenced Friday morning.
He stated that McLellan was able to reach the deputy’s gun by passing his arms through a plexiglass hole between the front and back seats.
According to Wilkins, the deputy then slammed on the brakes, prompting another deputy in a car behind him to strike his vehicle.
He added that both policemen then began battling McLellan over the rifle.
Wilkins stated that McLellan repeatedly told the officer, “You’re going to love this.”
He said that a detention center officer who was also in the car sprayed pepper spray on McLellan, which caused him to lose the deputy’s gun.
According to Wilkins, McLellan attempted to flee Friday morning while on his way to the hearing by removing his leg restraints with a handmade key.
He explained that his transport officer, who was driving the car, noticed a lot of movement in the backseat and stopped over to investigate.
That’s when he realized McLellan was trying to flee.
Wilkins stated that they were able to remove the key and return McLellan to the leg shackles in order to transport him to the hearing.
He stated that the hearing began earlier than expected due to security concerns with McLellan.
Wilkins stated that in each instance, his deputies detected odd movement in the car’s back seat, which alerted them to the problem.
“They did their jobs just as they were instructed to do. We discovered a problem. “I pulled over and found the problem,” Wilkins added.
He stated they informed Central Prison in Raleigh that McLellan had taken two homemade keys from him, which they suspect he brought from the prison.