Man wanted for several burglaries escapes custody in handcuffs

WHITEVILLE, NC (WWAY) — A man who was wanted for several burglaries in Whiteville escaped custody after the Tabor City Police Department arrested him for fighting an officer.

Whiteville Police spokesman Allan May said Mhalik Jamal Graham is wanted for numerous burglaries throughout Whiteville and the surrounding Columbus County.

May said on November 9, Graham was involved in a high speed chase after detectives with Whiteville Police attempted to take him into custody. May said the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office joined in the search for Graham after he hit a sheriff’s patrol vehicle. May said Graham then ran into a nearby wooded area where he got away.

On Monday, Capt. Greg Sibbet with the Tabor City Police Department said officers responded to a call about a man walking around the parking lot of the Ritz on Hickman Road. Sibbet said officers saw the man and he started running. The officers got him and the man started fighting the officers, so they arrested him.

Sibbet said they took the man to the Tabor City Police Department. Sibbet said the man gave them a fake name, but later they realized it was Mhalik Graham.

Sibbet said while at the police department, the man told them he left a wallet and guns near the Ritz. One officer left to go look for them leaving one officer with the man.

Sibbet said the man then jumped out of a chair with his hands cuffed behind him, ran through the building, out a door and got away. The officer chased him, but it was unsuccessful.

Sibbet said they did not know at the time, it was Mhalik Graham. Sibbet said they never found a wallet or gun at the scene, but they did notice the man had broken into an insurance agency and they found he had stolen guns from the owner of the store.

May said there are numerous warrants for Graham’s arrest and the U.S. Marshalls are actively engaged in attempts to locate him.

Graham is considered armed and dangerous.