PASQUOTANK COUNTY, N.C. — An inmate who killed four prison employees in a failed prison escape attempt in 2017 has been handed four death sentences.
Watch previous coverage: Another man convicted in deadly Pasquotank prison attempt; victim's family relieved
On Wednesday, a jury recommended the death sentences for Jonathan Michael Monk, an inmate at the Pasquotank Correctional Institution. A superior judge in Pitt County accepted the recommendation.
He was also sentenced to five active sentences, totaling 60 to 81 years, for other charges he faced in connection to the attempted prison break. Those active sentences will run at the expiration of the death sentences.
Watch previous: Witnesses testify about 'the odor of pure blood' in Pasquotank Co. deadly prison attack trial
Monk is one of four inmates charged in the murders of PCI employees Veronica Darden, Justin Smith, Geoffrey Howe and Wendy Shannon, who were killed during the failed escape on October 12, 2017.
Two other inmates, Wisezah Buckman and Mikel Brady, were previously convicted and sentenced to death. The fourth and final inmate charged, Seth Frazier, has not been sentenced yet, online court records show.
Pasquotank Correctional Institution says enhanced security measures — including a new system to monitor prisoners — have been put in place since the deadly escape attempt.
