Autopsy results pending after 2 NC prison workers killed

State officials on Friday provided more information about a violent, botched escape attempt at a facility near Elizabeth City Thursday that left two correctional employees dead and 10 others hurt, three seriously.

The details came hours after flags were lowered to half-staff to honor correctional officer Justin Smith, 35, who had worked at the Pasquotank Correctional Institute since 2015, and Correction Enterprises site manager Veronica Darden, 50, who had worked at the prison for 10 years.

During a Friday afternoon press conference, authorities said autopsy results for Darden and Smith were pending.

Pasquotank County Sheriff Randy Cartwright said there was no riot during the attempted jailbreak and no one was taken hostage. He said there are multiple crime scenes in different areas of the prison.

"I don’t think this was spontaneous in no way," Cartwright told reporters. "As evidence progresses, I’m sure you’ll see some charges coming out. And we’ll be able to give out more in the upcoming week once the autopsies are done."

Cartwright stressed that no inmates ever escaped the prison grounds during the event, to which he said more than 200 law enforcement officers responded.

Deputy state prisons director Annie Harvey identified the other prison employees hurt in the attack.

Three remained hospitalized at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital as of 1 p.m. Friday afternoon: Corrections officer Wendy Shannon and maintenance engineer Geoffrey Howe, both of whom were listed in critical condition, and corrections officer George Midgett, in fair condition.

Seven other prison workers were treated and released. They were identified as Sgt. Curtis Casper, Sgt. Larry Swain, Sgt. Jerry Byrum and correctional employees Scott Stormer, Timothy Lewis, Steve Sanders and Regina Ferebee.

Four inmates were hurt during the incident. They were treated and returned to the prison. During the press conference, officials said those inmates have been transferred to the Polk Correctional Institute in Butner, North Carolina, to await charges. Their identities have not yet been released.

Pasquotank Correctional, near the northeast North Carolina coast, houses 725 male inmates in high-, medium- and minimum-security buildings. The Correction Enterprises sewing plant, located in the high-security building, employs inmates to make safety vests and embroidered items.

According to Cartwright, inmates working in the sewing shop launched the attack and started a fire shortly after 3:00 p.m. Thursday. The fire was extinguished quickly, and the incident was brought under control by about 5:20 p.m. Officials refused to disclose Friday how the correctional workers were killed or injured, citing the ongoing investigation by Pasquotank County Sheriff's Department and the State Bureau of Investigation.

Darden and Smith are the second and third correctional workers killed in the line of duty in North Carolina prisons this year. Harvey said prison system leaders are doing everything they can to keep staff and inmates safe, but said correctional officers face the same risks every day that other law enforcement officers do: "Sometimes things happen that are out of our control."

"You have professionals that work in those facilities. They’re willing to give their life for the community to make it safe," Harvey said, "and those employees who did die – that is what in fact they did. They gave their life to ensure that you are safe."

Gov. Roy Cooper expressed his condolences in a written statement.

"Those who work in our prisons do a difficult and demanding job that is critical to our safety. We're grateful to these fallen prison employees for their service, and we offer our condolences to their families, friends, coworkers and community on this tragic loss," Cooper's statement said.

In a Facebook post made on April 28, Darden spoke of the dangers corrections employees face.

"Things can pop off in a millisecond," she wrote. "This is serious business."

Darden is survived by a husband and two daughters. She was known as "Miss Ronnie" in her Hertford County community, and many of her co-workers, friends and family posted condolences on her Facebook page.

Smith relocated to North Carolina from New York City. He was the security officer for the sewing shop, authorities said.