Accused gang member escapes prison, takes Lyft to family's Shelby home

SHELBY, N.C. — A man accused of being a gang member escaped from a prison in Salisbury and grabbed a ride to Shelby, officials told Channel 9.

[ALSO READ: Changes at NC prisons will address safety issues]

Investigators said Jaylan Ross used a Lyft to get back to his family's home in Shelby, more than an hour's drive away.

"Usually, if someone escapes with that little time left, there is a trigger. Something had to happen they wanted to be involved in or didn't want to miss," said Capt. Steve Canipe, with the Shelby Police Department.

Prison officials said Ross somehow managed to get free and climb the gate of the minimum security prison around midnight.

He was wearing a black shirt and black shorts in prison. His clothes didn't give away his situation when he walked to a Salisbury store about a mile from the prison.

That's where officials said he managed to get a Lyft ride back home.

"I think it was probably his destination the whole time," Canipe said.

Police said Ross showed up at his mother's house and someone let him inside.

Shelby police said they arrived a few hours later, after finding out that was where the Lyft driver had dropped him off.

Police said an officer noticed someone looking out of the blinds in the basement, and they arrested Ross without a fight.

Now, they want to know if his family helped him escape.

"We don't know right now if they sent the Lyft, if he got a hold of a phone somehow, which he is not supposed to," Canipe said.

Ross was taken back to the prison in Salisbury.

Channel 9 has learned he will be moved to a higher security prison and that he can expect a longer sentence for escaping from prison.

Ross was just eight days away from completing a three-month sentence for probation violation.

Cox Media Group