A man who kidnapped, raped and killed a 13-year-old girl nearly escaped imprisonment after making two homemade keys.
Michael McLellan, 39, pleaded guilty to the horrific crimes against North Carolina teenager Hania Aguilar in 2018.
He would then make two separate escape attempts.
The first came Friday morning, when officers transported McLellan to the courthouse where he would ultimately plead guilty.
During the trip, the offender managed to remove the restraints from his legs, using one of two tools apparently made from materials obtained at a prison art workshop, Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said.
The senior police officer went on to describe the altercation that occurred after a transport officer noticed movement and stopped to see what was happening.
Encountering a partially unrestrained McLellan attempting to escape, he and other officers were able to restrain him and bring him to court. McLellan pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to life in prison.
A second escape attempt occurred during the trip back to Central Prison, after police confiscated the first key McLellan had hidden in his mouth.
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Michael McLellan, 39, pleaded guilty to the same 2018 crime involving North Carolina teenager Hania Aguilar before and after two separate escape attempts on Friday.
McLellan abducted 13-year-old Hania Aguilar outside her parents’ home while she was waiting to go to school on November 5, 2018.
McLellan again managed to free himself. The officer braked suddenly and this time the criminal got the officer’s gun.
“He was able to press the latch that opens the gun on the holster and really have control of the gun,” Wilkins said of McLellan, who was able to remove the handcuffs with a second hidden key.
This allowed him to reach under a piece of plexiglass that separated him from the front seat, with free access for the officers.
From there, he was able to release a pry bar on an officer’s gun holster and physically grab the gun, Wilkins said, describing the struggle that ensued along I-40.
“He was able to press the latch that opens the gun in the holster and actually have control of the gun,” he said, revealing how McLellan managed to pick out what cops call a “black box” that had connected his restraints to other chains.
The box serves as a kind of handcuff cover, intended to close the lock hole of the handcuffs so that The potential violator cannot force or tamper with any part of the lock.
“(The deputy) has one hand on the gun,” Wilkins recalled to WRAL-News.
“McLellan has his hand on the handle of the gun and there is a struggle for it.”
Wilkins noted that during the fight, McLellan told the officer, “You’re going to love this,” as they struggled for the firearm and other officers rushed to help.
The horror ended when a detention center officer who was also in the car used pepper spray on McLellan, causing him to lose control of the officer’s gun.
“There was a little fight right there over the gun, and the passenger, the detention officer, pepper sprayed him,” Wilkins said. “He immediately dropped the gun, limped back to the seat and said, ‘You’ve got me, you’ve got me.'”
Before the sentencing hearing, the offender managed to remove the restraints from his legs using a tool made with materials obtained from a prison art workshop.
One of the seized tools is seen here, as officers revealed that they took two from the convict.
The first key was trapped in the criminal’s handcuffs, although a second one managed to remove them.
The second attempt ended when a detention center officer who was also in the car used pepper spray on McLellan, causing him to lose control of the officer’s gun.
Wilkins added that at that point McLellan was resigned to his fate (life without parole) and told the officers, “I give up.”
He said a total of two homemade keys were confiscated and the first one got caught in the handcuffs.
McLellan is now being held in a high-security area at the North Carolina Central Prison in Raleigh, in an effort by authorities to prevent further escape attempts. The facility is the highest-security prison in the entire state.
“Everyone at the Lumberton Police Department is honored and grateful to be able to bring justice for Hania, her family and the community,” Police Chief Michael McNeill said of the case.
‘This case has demonstrated our tireless commitment and tireless efforts to hold violent criminals accountable for their actions.
‘Before you go to bed tonight, pray that Hania’s family will begin to heal their broken hearts.’
Meanwhile, Wilkins added in his own statement: “I believe the whole day was an escape attempt for McLellan,” who kidnapped the young girl outside her parents’ house while she was waiting to go to school in her family’s van on November 5, 2018. .
“I think him coming and pleading guilty like he did was a way for him to get out of that prison behind those walls, and it gave him two opportunities to try to escape today,” he said.
The victim’s parents are seen looking at their daughter’s killer during the same hearing in 2018. He will now serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Robert M. DeWitt, the FBI agent in charge for North Carolina, said of McLellan: “We hope that Hania’s family… takes some comfort in knowing that she will spend the rest of her life in prison.”
“I heard him talk to the family for a few words, saying he was sorry,” she added. “I didn’t see any sincerity in that.”
He went on to praise the officers who were able to subdue the man in both cases, which he believes occurred after McLellan managed to smuggle both items into his mouth.
‘They did their job as they are trained to do. A problem was detected. “I stopped and found the problem,” he said.
Robert M. DeWitt, the FBI special agent in charge of North Carolina, added: “We hope that Hania’s family and McLellan’s other victims take some comfort in knowing that he will spend the rest of his life in prison.” .