POLKTON — As the June 13 edition of the Anson Record was going to press, state prison officials released information on attack on a correctional officer that day — making the second assault at Lanesboro Correctional Institution that week.
Aaron Snoke is accused of assaulting a correctional officer with his fists while being escorted to restrictive housing around 9 a.m. last Tuesday morning, according to the N.C. Department of Public Safety.
The injured officer was evaluated and released from an outside medical facility. Neither Snoke or any other officers were injured.
The Polkton Police Department and DPS are investigating and will pursue assault charges against Snoke, according to a press release. As of June 19, state court records showed no charges had been filed.
State prison records show Snoke was convicted in 2003 and is serving or has served time (a mix of consecutive and concurrent sentences) on charges of: robbery with a dangerous weapon (Harnett County); first-degree burglary, attempted assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon and receiving a stolen vehicle (Cumberland County).
His projected release date before Wednesday’s incident was July 5, 2025.
Snoke previously served nearly five months in 2001 when his probation was revoked on earlier felony convictions of larceny of a motor vehicle, breaking and entering and larceny after breaking and entering.
State prison officials also say an inmate was assaulted with a “homemade weapon” by another around 8:42 p.m. June 10 while they were being moved for recreational time. The injured inmate was taken to an undisclosed “local hospital” for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
That incident is also being investigated by the DPS and local law enforcement.
The names of those involved have not yet been released.
Last Tuesday’s assault is at least the third attack at Lanesboro this year where officers were injured, and the Charlotte Observer has called it “one of North Carolina’s most dangerous and understaffed prisons.”
An officer was assaulted in April when responding to attack on an inmate and WBTV in Charlotte reported that two guards were attacked by inmates on Feb. 20.
Four inmates were injured in two fights in July 2016, but not officers were injured. Later that year, four staff members — including two officers — were hospitalized after being stabbed and two others were assaulted with a broom handle. Another officer was attacked by an inmate in February of that year.
Earlier this year, state prison officials announced that Lanesboro will be converted to a women’s facility and will be renamed Anson Correctional Institution.
The minimum custody unit (formerly Brown Creek) will still house male inmates.
Reach William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 or wtoler@yourdailyjournal.com.
