Alder Marin-Sotelo caught, search goes on for second escapee

Published 3:40 pm Thursday, May 4, 2023

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Alder Marin-Sotelo is back in custody. The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday, May 4 that the man, who escaped from Piedmont Regional Jail on Sunday, was arrested by Mexican authorities in the state of Guerrero, just after 3 p.m. 

There’s still much we don’t know about what he did after jumping into a red Mustang and driving away from Farmville early on Sunday, April 30. In a statement right after the arrest took place, FBI officials said this isn’t the end of the case. 

“The investigation to determine his exact movements (before) and (after escape) is ongoing,” the statement said. 

Email newsletter signup

The arrest comes one day before Alder’s sister Adriana is scheduled to go before a judge. She was arrested and charged with conspiracy to instigate or assist her brother’s escape. We detailed the case against her here. That hearing will take place as scheduled at 3 p.m. in Greensboro, North Carolina. 

Alder, meanwhile, will be transported back to the United States, where he faces a number of charges. In addition to the federal weapons charges he faces, and now the charges of escape, Alder is one of two suspects in the murder of a Wake County sheriff’s deputy. That case has yet to go to trial. 

Alder Marin-Sotelo labeled as shooter

And in that case, his brother claims Alder is the actual shooter. Marin-Sotelo and his older brother Arturo stand accused of shooting Wake County Deputy Ned Byrd, who, according to court records, was found outside his parked patrol car on Aug. 11, 2022. The K9 officer had been headed to training with his animal partner when he reported in that he was checking out a truck on the side of Battle Bridge Road. The dashcam video from his patrol car picked up audio from the scene. The court records say there were six gunshots and then the video picked up the truck driving off. Byrd had been shot four times, including three shots to the back of the head. 

When he was later arrested, Arturo told sheriff’s deputies he had been hunting deer in a field near Battle Bridge Road, armed with an AK-47, at the time of the murder. He claimed his younger brother Alder had been parking their truck on the side of the road. Court records show Arturo claimed he saw a police car pull up behind the vehicle and heard gunshots, then watched from the field as his brother drove away.

Search continues for second escapee

Meanwhile, the search goes on for the second man who escaped Sunday from Piedmont Regional Jail. Bruce Callahan, age 44, had been convicted of multiple federal drug charges. The North Carolina native is described as a white male, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes.

The U.S. Marshals Service is in charge of the search for him. To be clear, he did not leave the jail with Alder. While Alder escaped just after 1:40 a.m. Sunday, Callahan left the jail right after 11 p.m. that night. The Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to his arrest.

Anyone with information on Callahan’s current location is urged to contact the U.S. Marshals Service at 1-877-WANTED-2 or submit information via the USMS Tips App.