A North Carolina detention officer was fatally shot during a “scuffle” at a medical facility after a federal inmate who had been taken to the facility for treatment managed to seize his weapon, authorities said.
The inmate was apprehended after fleeing in a stolen vehicle and now faces a murder charge, according to Cherokee County Sheriff Dustin Smith.
“This has probably been one of the worst days of my career,” Smith said during a press briefing Monday evening. “This is a tough day for law enforcement for Cherokee County.”
The inmate — identified as 48-year-old Kelvin Simmons — had been transported to a medical facility for orthopedic treatment after he complained of foot pain, according to Smith.
Two detention officers were escorting Simmons — a heightened protocol after the inmate had previously attempted a failed escape from the Cherokee County detention center last year, Smith said.
One of the officers, 56-year-old Francisco Flattes, was shot at the medical facility, the sheriff said.
“There was a scuffle, and that’s when the officer’s weapon was taken from him,” Smith said.
Flattes was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The other officer, George Feinauer, was injured during the incident but is expected to recover, Smith said.
Simmons is then accused of carjacking a vehicle from someone who was at the medical facility and fleeing the scene. He was later apprehended in Macon County, North Carolina. No one else was in the vehicle. He was transported to a hospital in the area after complaining of foot pain, the sheriff said.
Simmons is a federal inmate who was being housed in Cherokee County on bank robbery charges, according to Smith. Online records show he pleaded guilty to bank robbery by force or violence and motor vehicle theft in 2023 but has not yet been sentenced.
Simmons also faces escape charges after attempting to break out of the Cherokee County detention center in October 2024 by climbing over a fence, according to Smith.
He is going to be charged with first-degree murder in Flattes’ death, according to the local district attorney, Ashley Hornsby Welch.
“We anticipate that more charges will be forthcoming,” she said at the briefing. “We’ve also been in contact with the United States Attorney’s Office, and I do believe that charges are likely coming from them as well.”
Flattes had been with the sheriff’s office for four years, Smith said. His wife also works for the Cherokee County detention center and his son-in-law works for the sheriff’s office.
“I just ask that you pray for our office, for Officer Flattes’ family,” Smith said.
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