HENDERSONVILLE – A man who escaped July 17 from the Henderson County Detention Center is considered armed and dangerous, according to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Erick Johnyy Perez, 20, also known as Junior, escaped through an emergency exit in the recreation area at around 12:10 p.m. and climbed over a perimeter fence, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office said in a July 18 news release.
The Sheriff’s Office is actively searching for Perez along with the U.S. Marshals Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, according to the release.
According to a Sheriff’s Office database, Perez was booked June 8 on charges including breaking or entering, resisting a public officer, larceny of a motor vehicle and injury to real property.
Perez is known to have ties to the Hendersonville community, according to a July 18 Marshals Service flyer.
His escape was discovered after a detention officer found that the door unsecured and was confirmed with a head count.
The Sheriff’s Office is investigating whether the escape was made possible by a mechanical malfunction or by human error, according to the release.
The Sheriff’s alert said Perez is a Mexican national and was being held on an immigration detainer.
The Sheriff’s Office opts to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Section 287(g) to the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows ICE to deputize local police to enforce federal immigration law.
Local media reported that Sheriff Lowell Griffin renewed that agreement earlier this year.
This story will be updated.
George Fabe Russell is the Henderson County Reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Tips, questions, comments? Email him at GFRussell@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Man on the run after escaping from Henderson County Detention Center