Bystander Helps North Carolina Deputy Recapture Virginia Murder Suspect
RALEIGH, North Carolina May 30 2019— A murder suspect made a brief getaway from a Wake County deputy in downtown Raleigh on Monday afternoon before a bystander helped recapture him.
George Knisley, who was arrested by Raleigh police Friday night on Virginia murder charges, was being moved from the Wake County Public Safety Center to the Wake County Detention Center on Hammond Road, according to a Wake County Sheriff’s Office press release.
As they were exiting, the 41-year-old Knisley complained to a deputy that the handcuff on his right wrist was too tight. When the deputy tried to loosen it, Knisley pushed the deputy with his shoulder and ran down the Public Safety ramp, leading to McDowell Street, the release said.
Knisley ran toward Dawson Street before an unidentified man helped the deputy stop him, authorities say.
John Martinez Jr. told WRAL that he saw a man in an orange jumpsuit running down the street being chased by a uniformed officer, who was falling behind. Martinez joined the chase and caught Knisley, tackling him near Dawson Street, the report said.
“I took him down to the ground, pinned his arms around his back,” he told WRAL. “He begged me to let me go. (He) said, ‘Let me go. Let me go. I am wanted for murder,’ and I was like, there is no chance.”
Knisley faces numerous charges including robbery with a dangerous weapon, resisting a public officer, possession of a stolen firearm and felony of eluding arrest, the release says.
Investigators in Cumberland County, Va., are seeking Knisley in connection with a homicide reported at 3:30 a.m. Friday., according to a WTVR report. When they arrived at the scene 45 minutes west of Richmond, they found a man who was dead. Investigators said a woman living at the residence was missing, according to the report.
Deputies in Wake County say Knisley told them he was a “murderer and didn’t want to live any longer,” when he was recaptured, according to the news release.
Knisley was being held at the Wake County jail awaiting extradition to Virginia, the release says.
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