Lee County deputies say a convicted federal inmate who walked away from a prison complex in Butner was tracked to rural Lemon Springs on Monday, where a short hostage standoff ended with his arrest. The suspect, identified by the sheriff's office as 46-year-old Antwan Lopez Clemons, eventually released the woman he was holding and surrendered after negotiators talked him down. Clemons is being held in the Lee County Detention Center without bond while investigators sort through the stack of local and federal charges now in play.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office says Clemons showed up at the woman's home Monday morning and took her hostage. The woman managed to alert a family member, who then called 911, according to WTVD. Deputies set up a perimeter around the property and began negotiating, a process that ended when Clemons let the woman go and surrendered. When officers took him into custody, they noted he was still wearing a prison-issued uniform.
Lee County deputies have charged Clemons with first-degree kidnapping, breaking and entering to terrorize or injure, two counts of assault by pointing a gun, misdemeanor domestic violence, communicating threats, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. More local charges are expected, according to WRAL. Federal records show Clemons pleaded guilty in late 2024 to trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine and was sentenced in April 2025 to 135 months in prison, per the U.S. Attorney's Office. Authorities say he had been serving that sentence at the Butner complex before walking away from the facility.
How the standoff ended
Deputies surrounded the Lemon Springs home and negotiated with Clemons until he released the woman and surrendered without further incident, the station reports. Family members who received messages from the victim relayed key details to investigators while the situation was unfolding, according to WTVD. The sheriff's office said the woman was not physically harmed during the ordeal.
Federal custody and potential charges
Because Clemons was serving a federal sentence when he walked away, an escape from federal custody can trigger a separate set of penalties under federal law. The statute that covers escape from custody is listed at Justia. The U.S. Marshals Service is the federal agency that leads fugitive operations and routinely works with local law enforcement to track down escaped federal inmates, per the U.S. Marshals Service. If federal prosecutors move forward with escape-related counts, any conviction would be added to Clemons' existing sentence and handled in federal court.
What's next
Clemons remains jailed at the Lee County Detention Center without bond as county investigators pull together the local case and wait for federal authorities to weigh in, the sheriff's office said. Local reports indicate more charges are expected and that federal prosecutors could add escape-related counts after the local filings, according to WRAL. The investigation is ongoing.
